Rapper A$AP Rocky could be free ASAP. The American rapper’s Swedish ordeal will come to a head — as his rap album put it — “At. Long. Last” when his trial begins Tuesday.
Mr. Rocky was arrested on assault charges in Sweden after an altercation with two men he claimed continued to follow him and sexually harass women on the streets of Stockholm. President Trump raised the profile of the case by tweeting that the U.S. musician should have be set free.
Videos that the rapper posted on Instagram appear to show his entourage asking the two men to stop following them on a Stockholm street, leading to an escalating confrontation. But videos taken by other bystanders appear to show Mr. Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, throwing one of the men to the ground.
The platinum-selling artist and two men in his entourage were arrested and said they were acting in self-defense. The Swedish judicial system investigated the claims against the followers, but prosecutors dropped the case.
Many celebrities, including rapper Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, have joined Mr. Trump in denouncing what they say are potentially racist actions by the Swedish government on Twitter and a Change.org petition, earning Mr. Rocky President Donald Trump’s support.
Mr. Trump said he spoke to Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven about Mr. Rocky’s charges and requested his release while offering to “personally vouch for his bail.”
The three men have been held in Swedish custody since July 5 without bail because Sweden does not use a bail system. The Grammy-nominated rapper has been detained because his wealth makes him a flight risk in the Swedish court’s eyes.
Mr. Lofven declined the U.S. president’s request to influence the Swedish judicial system. His spokesman argued, “In Sweden everyone is equal before the law.”
“Very disappointed in Prime Minister Stefan Lofven for being unable to act. Sweden has let our African-American community down in the United States,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “I watched the tapes of A$AP Rocky, and he was being followed and harassed by troublemakers. Treat Americans fairly! #FreeRocky”
Another American rapper, G-Eazy, who is white, came to Mr. Rocky’s defense as well. He was arrested in Sweden last summer but was released two days later.
“The difference between me and Rocky’s treatment and process in Sweden brings to mind two concepts that disgustingly go hand in hand: white privilege and systemic racism,” G-Eazy commented. “Let’s call it what it is.”
But former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt wrote in a column for The Washington Post that if Sweden’s judicial system gave in to one country, others would follow.
“Its independence is far preferable to a system of arbitrary justice influenced by the whims of politics, be they domestic or foreign,” wrote Mr. Bildt.
Mr. Rocky will testify to the Swedish judicial authorities Tuesday and faces up to 2 years in prison, after already losing an estimated $1 million for cancelled tour dates.
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