In their efforts to show that Sean Combs was capable of the sort of violence that helped him control a criminal enterprise, federal prosecutors have pointed to his possession of multiple firearms, a video that depicts him assaulting his girlfriend and broad language in court papers describing multiple acts of intimidation and violence.

But in one of their most detailed accusations, prosecutors have also outlined a specific incident in which they say the music mogul, who is now charged with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, orchestrated the firebombing of a convertible car.

The 14-page indictment does not detail what investigators say were acts of kidnapping and arson directed by Mr. Combs. But in a letter filed last week with the court, federal prosecutors described a disquieting sequence of events that unfolded in late 2011 and early 2012 in which they say Mr. Combs executed a scheme to break into a person’s home, and, roughly two weeks later, set their car on fire.

Mr. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the sex trafficking, racketeering and prostitution charges that have been leveled against him.

The government has argued that the incident involving the car fire was evidence of the kind of menace Mr. Combs used to operate what they have described as a racketeering enterprise — and to control the associates that investigators say he directs.

“The defendant’s violence — whether spontaneous or premeditated — had the effect of exerting his continued control over these individuals,” the letter said.