Rapper A$AP Rocky Charged With Assault In Sweden

A Swedish prosecutor charged rapper A$AP Rocky with assault over a physical altercation between the rapper, his entourage and two individuals in Stockholm that occurred July 1.

According to an AP report, prosecutor Daniel Suneson came “to the conclusion that the events in question constitute a crime and despite claims of self-defense and provocation filed charges against the artist and two others.”

News of the incident broke July 2, when TMZ released a video showing A$AP Rocky and others from his entourage throwing an individual on the street and beating him up.

A subsequent video released on the rapper’s own Instagram showed the person who was beaten, and a friend, following A$AP Rocky and his crew around town, ignoring several pleas to “just walk away,” “go somewhere” and “nobody wants to fight.”

“It is worth noting that I have had access to a greater amount of material than that which has previously been available on the internet,” Suneson said. “In addition to video material, the injured party’s statements have been supported by witness statements.”

According to AP, “the prosecutor has recommended that the Stockholm District Court set aside three days for the trial, which defense lawyer Slobodan Jovicic said is expected to start on Tuesday. The charges can carry a maximum sentence of two years in prison.”

A$AP Rocky has been held in custody in Stockholm since July 3. After performing at Stockholm’s Smash Festival July 2 the artist voluntarily went to the police for questioning, at which point he and the other members of his entourage involved in the incident were arrested. 

The artist’s manager John Ehmann wrote on Instagram, that “the conditions of the facility are horrific and include 24/7 solitary confinement, restriction of amenities for the most basic of human functions, lack of access to life sustaining food as well as unsanitary conditions.”

On the morning of July 12, Ehmann’s hotel room was reportedly raided by the Swedish authorities.

The rapper maintains that he was acting in self-defense. “There were initially two injured parties in the case, but the allegations concerning one of them were dropped due to insufficient supporting evidence and the charges relate to only one alleged victim. That person has not been identified,” the report states.

“A counter-allegation was made by the artist’s bodyguard against one of the alleged victims, but that case was closed earlier this week,” it continues.

Several prominent figures have come out in support of A$AP Rocky, including Sean Combs, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump, who said he had spoken with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven about A$AP Rocky, offering to “personally vouch for his bail.”

However, Sweden’s ambassador to Washington, Karin Olofsdotter, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT that one could be detained in Sweden without having the opportunity to be released on bail.

According to AP, both Olofsdotter and A$AP Rocky’s lawyer “rejected speculation that racist motives might have played a role in A$AP Rocky’s arrest.”

The arrest has caused Rocky to miss several major festival performances at Kadetten Festival in Norway, Open’er Festival in Poland, Longitude Festival in Ireland, Wireless Festival in London, Atlas Weekend in Ukraine, Dour Festival in Belgium, Melt! and Splash festivals in Germany, Tomorrowland Festival in Belgium, as well as Sonar in Spain.

Upcoming dates include an Aug. 3 performance at the Beachclub in Quebec, Canada, although his listing has been removed from the website. His Aug. 11-24 festival run, which includes “Real Street” in Anaheim, CA, Blockfest in Finland, Royal Arena Festival in Switzerland, Lowlands Paradise in the Netherlands and Hellow Fest in Monterrey, Mexico, still seem unaffected.

Pollstar has reached out to the artist’s publicist to find out how he was holding up.