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Man Accused Of Harassing A$AP Rocky Won’t Face Charges, Prosecutors Say
A$AP Rocky’s team has claimed that the fight that got him arrested was started by someone else, but prosecutors have ended their investigation into that man.
One man involved in the June 30 street fight that led to A$AP Rocky’s arrest will not be facing charges for his alleged involvement in the scuffle.
While the 30-year-old American rapper, born Rakim Myers, continues to be held at a Swedish prison pending formal charges, an investigation into the man accused of instigating the fight and harassing the rapper's crew has been “discontinued,” Swedish prosecutors confirmed in a release issued Monday. Referring to the unnamed man as an “injured party,” prosecutors said that he is “no longer suspected of any crime.”
A$AP Rocky, who was arrested for suspected gross assault days after the alleged brawl, was seen in video published by TMZ engaging in a fight with another man. However, in clips that he shared on his own Instagram page before his arrest, the “Fashion Killa” rapper told a different story, and claimed that he'd asked the men to leave him and his group alone. One of the men struck A$AP Rocky’s bodyguard with a pair of headphones, he claimed in one Instagram caption.
Prosecutors said Monday that the unnamed man threw the headphones after he was pushed and lifted off of the ground by his neck; such an act then constitutes a “right to self-defense,” Senior Public Prosecutor Daniel Suneson claimed.
A$AP Rocky’s legal team have long claimed that the rapper and his companions acted out of self-defense, after two men “followed, harassed, and physically assaulted them in Stockholm,” according to an online petition that calls for A$AP Rocky’s release.
His lawyer has claimed that the facility in which his client is being held is “inhumane” and has unsanitary conditions, but those claims have been denied by the prison’s governor.
The case has attracted the attention of a number of high-profile public figures. Kim Kardashian, reality TV star and aspiring lawyer, confirmed earlier this week that she’d reached out to President Donald Trump to ask for his help in setting A$AP Rocky free. Trump obliged and reached out to Sweden's Prime Minister on Saturday, offering to "personally vouch" for the rapper, NBC News reports. Presidential involvement may yield little in the way of results, however, as Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has stated his intentions to let the president know that his country’s criminal justice system is independent and treats everyone equally, according to the network.
A$AP Rocky, who has been detained for nearly three weeks, will continue to be held until July 25, when prosecutors will have to decide whether to charge him or not, according to Monday’s release. They say that until then, the investigation is ongoing.
