President Trump has announced that rapper A$AP Rocky is “on his way home” from Sweden after weeks of negotiating his release with Sweden’s prime minister.
“A Swedish court has ruled that rapper A$AP Rocky and two other suspects will be released from jail and remain free until Aug. 14, when an assault verdict will be announced,” reports Fox News.
Though initial reports were unclear if A$AP Rocky would be able to leave the country, Trump proudly announced on Twitter that the rapper is now “on his way home.”
“A$AP Rocky released from prison and on his way home to the United States from Sweden,” tweeted President Trump. “It was a Rocky Week, get home ASAP A$AP!”
Rapper A$AP Rocky was arrested in Sweden after getting into an altercation with two men who had been harassing his entourage. In closing arguments on Friday, prosecutors demanded that Rocky receive a six-month sentence — the rapper, by contrast, asked for community service. During the court hearings, one witness changed her testimony from the initial police report to say she did not see the rapper hitting a man with a bottle. More from Fox News:
Witness testimonies were the highlight of the third day of the trial where Mayers and two other suspects are accused by prosecutors of beating 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari on June 30. The rapper’s bodyguard, identified as Timothy Leon Williams, also testified Friday.
Whether or not Jafari, who got into an argument with Mayers’ entourage in Stockholm, was hit with parts or a whole bottle has become one of the key issues at the trial.
Both women who testified Friday maintained their previous statements to police that they saw Mayers and his partners beating and kicking Jafari.
But one of the women recanted what she witnessed with the bottle. She said she heard the bottle being crushed, though she couldn’t say whether Mayers’ entourage threw the bottle to the ground or hit Jafari with it.
Shortly after Rocky’s arrest in Sweden, President Trump said he had called the Swedish prime minister to ensure the rapper be treated fairly after consulting with Kanye West and other prominent members of the black community.
“A$AP Rocky is a situation in Sweden. Sweden’s a great country and they’re friends of mine, the leadership. And we are going to be calling, we’ll be talking to them, we’ve already started and many, many members of the African-American community have called me — friends of mine, and said could you help?” Trump told reporters last month, according to ABC News.
“Just spoke to [Kanye West] about his friend A$AP Rocky’s incarceration. I will be calling the very talented prime minister of Sweden to see what we can do about helping A$AP Rocky. So many people would like to see this quickly resolved!” Trump later tweeted.
President Trump working to free A$AP Rocky seemingly presents a setback to those who would besmirch him as a racist. Anticipating this, 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) downplayed the president’s actions, characterizing them as a calculated political maneuver.
“There is no question that this White House is being — has been playing politics with his — his role of leadership, and it has to end,” Harris recently said.