The trial of President Trump’s favorite rapper, A$AP Rocky, started in Sweden on Tuesday, with the rapper pleading not guilty to assault.
Prosecutors in Stockholm told the court that A$AP Rocky and two other men believed to be part of his entourage “deliberately, together and in agreement” attacked the alleged victim, Mustafa Jafari, in the Swedish capital on June 30.
What happened?
A$AP Rocky and his crew pummeled a guy in Sweden, leaving him battered and bloodied in the street … according to witnesses on the scene.
TMZ obtained video that starts with the rapper having an intense convo with a couple of guys at Max restaurant in Stockholm Sunday night … allegedly over Rocky breaking a pair of their headphones earlier.
Sources say the 2 young men kept following A$AP Rocky and threatened to call the cops over the headphones. It was told that someone stepped in to translate the argument between the 2 parties, and Rocky delivered this message — stop following us … or else.
TMZ published another video the next day that appeared to show Rocky trying to defuse the situation before the fight. “Chill, go somewhere,” the rapper says in the video, which was also posted to his Instagram account. “We didn’t want trouble, they followed us for 4 blocks,” he wrote in the caption.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzax42UnxN0/
Apparently, that’s when another woman interrupted the convo, and accused one of the 2 men of grabbing her ass earlier. Witnesses say that’s when A$AP and his crew decided to throw down.
The video shows Rocky — in a white hoodie and green shorts — absolutely toss one of the guys like a ragdoll. You can also hear someone smash a bottle during the fight. Three other men, apparently on Rocky’s side — jumped in and joined the beatdown, punching and kicking the guy.
Sources say Rocky and his crew then took off, leaving the guy knocked out on the ground. An ambulance and cops showed up shortly after and took statements from witnesses.
Law enforcement sources tell us officers are looking into various fights that went down Sunday night in the center of Stockholm, but they had no info about A$AP Rocky being involved.
Sources close to A$AP Rocky’s team tell us he and his friends were only responding to “an assault.”
What has President Trump said?
Trump first commented on the case July 19, when a Swedish court ruled that Rocky would be detained for another week as prosecutors decided whether to formally charge him with assault. After discussing the rapper’s situation in the Oval Office, where he credited first lady Melania Trump with bringing the matter to his attention, Trump tweeted that he would “be calling the very talented Prime Minister of Sweden to see what we can do about helping A$AP Rocky.”
Very disappointed in Prime Minister Stefan Löfven for being unable to act. Sweden has let our African American Community down in the United States. I watched the tapes of A$AP Rocky, and he was being followed and harassed by troublemakers. Treat Americans fairly! #FreeRocky
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2019
What have Swedish authorities said about the case?
As suggested by Trump’s tweet last week, Swedish officials have not taken kindly to the president’s appeals.“Sweden and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven have explained and emphasized to the White House and President Trump respectively, the complete independence of the Swedish judicial system, prosecutors and courts,” Mikael Lindström, acting press secretary, wrote in a statement to The Washington Post last week.“In Sweden everyone is equal before the law. The Government is not allowed, and will not attempt, to influence the legal proceedings, which are now ongoing,” Lindström added.