ASAP Rocky: President Trump demands Sweden free US rapper

[ansible]

Source: BBC

US President Donald Trump has demanded that Sweden "give ASAP Rocky his freedom" in a series of tweets. The musician, real name Rakim Myers, has been charged with assault causing actual bodily harm in Stockholm. He will remain in custody until a trial takes place. Mr Trump raged on Twitter that Sweden had "let our African American community down". ASAP was arrested on 3 July following a fight that was captured on video. Two other men who were with them at the time have also been charged with assault. The musician says that his group was being followed by a group of men and he acted in self-defence. Donald Trump said last week that he had spoken to Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven about ASAP's case.

However on Thursday the president wrote that he was "very disappointed" in Mr Lofven for being "unable to act" and urged him to "treat Americans fairly". A spokesperson for Mr Lofven responded by saying that the Swedish judicial system, prosecutors and courts were independent, the government was not allowed to influence legal proceedings and "everyone is equal before the law".

Daniel Suneson, the Swedish prosecutor in charge of the case said that he had not spoken to any White House representatives or any representatives of the Swedish government while investigating the case. He added that there was "an obvious risk that these three suspects would leave the country if they were released".

On Wednesday, the rapper's mother pleaded for the release of her son. Renee Black told Swedish newspaper Expressen that ASAP "isn't really eating properly." Other celebrities such as Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West have also called for ASAP's release. More than 500,000, including fellow artists Nicki Minaj and Post Malone, have signed an online petition calling for the rapper to be released on bail.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49122557

[Polybius]

1. Every now and then, Trump does something like this so he can say "See, I'm not a racist!"

Whatever his reasons are though, he's right. Release ASAP, um, ASAP.

[PJMcK]

13. Um, there's something called Swedish law (n/t)

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

14. He is under arrest for felony assault.

That justifies holding him.

[PatSeg]

17. Yes

Anything he does or says is rarely authentic. His whole life is a poorly scripted ruse.

[Dopers_Greed]

18. It's because ASAP Rocky is a celebrity

He's doing it to get positive press for himself.

What's he going to do next, appoint Kanye as Secretary of State?

[forgotmylogin]

20. Wussolini is not scared to be "tough" with progressive Sweden.

But the Saudis or Russia would cut off his allowance checks.

[matt819]

22. Point taken.

On the one hand, he looks like the fascist he is when he demands that the prime minister of a country release a man accused of a crime on his say-so. That this looks bad is irrelevant to trump. After all, he is convinced that he can do and has done nothing wrong. And he won't apologize because he never has and never will. And in a day or two he'll forget about it. (Like the dead family members of that Yazidi family that visited the White House - Trump: So where are they? Family: They're dead.)

On the other hand, if for whatever reason this ASAP Rocky is released - charges dropped or acquitted - the fascist in chief will claim that it was because of his intercession. And his cult followers will believe him. And his mostly white cult followers will not care one bit that it was an African American rapper who benefited from the cult leaders work.

We live in mighty strange times.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

2. Maybe Kim Kardashian and Kanye West can get Fat Donnie to release the kids

from the cages.

Oh, that's right -- the children in the concentration camps aren't celebrities.

BTW, the Swedes have sent their reply: "Skruva dig, rövhål." (Screw you, asshole)

[Marie Marie]

5. He probably wants to sleep with Kim - he seems to jump through hoops for her.

[AMAGAtsNTD365]

8. That's exactly what it is

How she got famous again?! Like Paris Hilton, her sex tape with Ray J (Singer Brandy's brother) leaked.

[lunasun]

3. Trump trying to interfere with how the Swedish courts work now ? Bold mF

[Collimator]

4. Does anyone know anything about Swedish prisons?

I don't remember where I read about them, but they are pretty decent. Considering how many African-Americans are being held in institutions that are degrading and dangerous, for offences that would have been treated more leniently if committed by white Americans, I am having trouble getting worked up about this.

Sweden has done NOTHING to "let our African-American community down". America is doing that on a daily basis. Special treatment for one entertainer who happens to be black is no favor to African Americans.

Sweden is a sovereign nation with their own methods for handling the law. They do not have a sweeping reputation for human rights violations. They should be allowed to handle this matter without foreign pressure or influence. If the young man was only defending himself, that should come out during the investigation. With all due respect to a mother's concern, her son is a grown man and I'm sure that he will eat when he is hungry.

Meanwhile, Trump's enforcers in the Senate want to cut back on food assistance programs which will cause a great many children to go hungry. But hey, Trump likes to hob knob with the glitterati, so let's ask him to turn his attention to this situation so he can turn it into a photo op.

[Schmice3]

6. WTF and this is a "diplomatic incident" now?

Trump declares that he is "very disappointed" in the Swedish Prime Minister because he refused to interfere with their judicial system to allow the rappers to bail and then, of course, escape back to the U.S. where they'd be feted at the White House with all the celebrities and ending with a concert by ASAP Rocky ending with fireworks and confetti.
Trump will then announce a boycott of IKEA products, SAAB and Volvo and that will be just for openers. I hope the whole Trump clan ends up poor and in jail.

[keithbvadu2]

7. Donald, free the babies in your concentration camps.

Donald, free the babies in your concentration camps.

[dalton99a]

9. +1

[JohnnyRingo]

10. "....wipe Sweden off the map".

It's coming, just wait.

[SunSeeker]

11. Of all the incarcerated people to champion, Trump picks a guy committing a brutal assault on video.

Honestly, I think Trump is trolling.

This video of A$ap Rocky on TMZ shows him flinging a smaller man on the street like a rag doll into a concrete curb, apparently knocking him out. https://www.tmz.com/2019/07/01/asap-rocky-crew-jumps-guy-beatdown-stockholm-sweden/

[oldsoftie]

12. Is this before or after the video in the OP? That does make a difference.

If this is AFTER, it seems they gave the guys numerous chances to leave them alone. If its BEFORE, then toss 'em

[SunSeeker]

23. Does it matter? Why didn't Asap Rocky call the cops? Why throw the guy like that?

Apparently Asap Rocky broke the guy's headphones at a club and the guy was following Rocky because he wanted compensation I guess. Granted, the dude was being stupid. But that did not give Asap Rocky license to throw him like a rag doll.

[oldsoftie]

26. Earlier in the OP video the guy throws headphones at the big guy and they break.

Sometimes you just have to be smart and know you're about to be in a bad situation. If the guy had a problem, he also could have called the cops.
And believe me, i normally wouldnt back up the star in a situation like this because usually bodyguards are too violent. But you get told "get away from us" 100 times, get the hell AWAY from them.

[She_Totally_Gets_It]

16. ASAP Rocky has also made statements against dark-skinned black women and doesn't support

criminal justice for American blacks, so this is ironic. Let him rot.

I tire of black male celebrities talking shit about us black women. Let him rot there.

[SunSeeker]

24. Well that explains why Trump likes him. nt

[bucolic_frolic]

15. Trump comes to the aid of felon suspects

because he understands them

[Blue_Tires]

19. This is the same Donald Trump who literally told us

to believe the "official" story of Jamal Khashoggi's death, which is some rogue group of unknown non-Saudis kidnapped Khashoggi, took him to the Saudi embassy because reasons, got him past security, threw him into an empty room (it's almost as if his kidnappers *knew* the layout of the embassy beforehand?) and proceeded to torture/dismember him over the course of the next several hours and they somehow all leave the embassy with Khashoggi in pieces without the consul, staffers, or security seeing or hearing shit...

Outside of Stalin, I've never seen a modern national leader demand his people believe such an intelligence-insulting lie...

[atreides1]

21. His mother, really???

"On Wednesday, the rapper's mother pleaded for the release of her son. Renee Black told Swedish newspaper Expressen that ASAP "isn't really eating properly."

Someone should tell his mother that he's eating better then those children locked in cages in Texas...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

25. This is just sad and pathetic.

This guy was already in jail for a week and I'm damn sure Trump had never heard of him until after his comments about the congresswomen came out.

Then suddenly, he thinks he can solve his problems by acting like A$AP Rocky is Otto Warmbier in North Korea as opposed to a Z-List rapper who acted like an idiot in Sweden and as a result has to be subjected to the justice system of one of the few countries who can literally say their jails are nice.

Seriously, this is a jail cell in Sweden. It's nicer than my dorm room in college my freshman year, and that's not even a joke:



Meanwhile, the African American community still remembers that Donald Trump isn't the least bit remorseful for his comments about the Central Park 5 case and I'm sure they are rightfully telling him to go to hell at this point.

He, Kanye and A$AP Rocky.

[zonkers]

27. Why does this feel as Ludicrous as the Mouse that Roared?

I think we should go to war over this

[whistler162]

29. No this is Ludicrous

[jrthin]

28. I like the Swede's position: No one is above the law.

The US could stand to gain if they adhere to this position. Instead, the affluent in this country flaunts the law and gets away with it.

Further, ASAP Rocky said this: "I don’t wanna talk about no f–king Ferguson and shit because I don’t live over there! I live in fucking Soho and Beverly Hills. I can’t relate."

[muriel_volestrangler]

30. Woman arrested for threatening to blow up Swedish embassy over A$AP Rocky case

A fan of the rapper A$AP Rocky has been arrested in Washington DC after allegedly threatening to “blow up” the Swedish embassy there. The rapper is currently jailed in Sweden, awaiting trial for an assault charge after footage emerged of him and his entourage allegedly punching and kicking a pair of men on a Stockholm street.

According to a written statement by a Secret Service officer, Rebecca Kanter is accused of screaming at embassy staff, accosting a group of students visiting the embassy and damaging property. She was arrested after refusing to leave the premises, and charged with wilfully injuring and damaging property of a foreign government, and refusing to depart a foreign embassy. The previous day she had allegedly thrown liquid from a Coca-Cola bottle at the embassy and shouted: “I’m going to blow this motherfucker up.” She wrote on social media that she had “defiled the House of Sweden … why aren’t I getting press for A$AP”. She has been released on bail.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jul/29/woman-arrested-for-threatening-to-blow-up-swedish-embassy-over-aap-rocky-case