Trump celebrates rapper A$AP Rocky’s release from custody in Sweden: ‘It was a Rocky Week, get home ASAP A$AP!’

Reuters

President Donald Trump on Friday celebrated rapper A$AP Rocky’s release from custody in Sweden.
But Trump inaccurately claimed the rapper was on his way home, as Rocky is still awaiting a verdict and has only been temporarily released.
Rocky, who faces allegations of assault, was temporarily released on Friday until a verdict is announced on August 14.
Trump tweeted: "A$AP Rocky released from prison and on his way home to the United States from Sweden. It was a Rocky Week, get home ASAP A$AP!"
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President Donald Trump on Friday celebrated the release of A$AP Rocky from custody in Sweden, but wrongly suggested the rapper was on his way home.

Rocky, who faces allegations of assault, was temporarily released on Friday until a verdict is announced on August 14. Prosecutor Daniel Suneson has indicated he’s seeking a six-month sentence for the American rapper, the Associated Press reported, whose birth name is Rakim Mayers.

Trump in his tweet suggested he believes Rocky is already heading back to the US, stating, "A$AP Rocky released from prison and on his way home to the United States from Sweden. It was a Rocky Week, get home ASAP A$AP!"

The rapper has been detained in Sweden since early July over his alleged involvement in an altercation in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, on June 30.

Trump has taken a strong interest in Rocky’s case and has spoken about it publicly multiple times over the past few weeks. This has included lobbing criticism at Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, who does not have direct involvement in the case.

In one such instance in late July, Trump tweeted that he’s "very disappointed" in Löfven for "being unable to act." Trump added, "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."

Responding to Trump, Löfven’s press secretary Mikael Lindström at the time told INSIDER, "All I can say at this point, is that Sweden and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven have explained and emphasised the complete independence of the Swedish judicial system, prosecutors and courts. 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."

Trump this week sent his special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, Robert C. O’Brien, to Sweden to attend Rocky’s trial. This was an unusual move, given O’Brien is a diplomat who would typically be used in negotiations involving hostages in war-torn countries. Sweden is not war-torn, and Rocky is not a hostage.

O’Brien told The New York Times he’s there to support the rapper and his associates during the trial. "I’ll be here until they come home," he said on Tuesday.

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