© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

A$AP Rocky Found Guilty Of Assault

Rapper A$AP Rocky
Diego Donamaria
/
Getty Images for SXSW
Rapper A$AP Rocky

Updated at 4:30 p.m. ET

Court staff hand out the verdict to the press at the end of a hearing in US rapper A$AP Rocky's assault trial, in Stockholm, Sweden.
ANDERS WIKLUND / AFP/Getty Images
/
AFP/Getty Images
Court staff hand out the verdict to the press at the end of a hearing in US rapper A$AP Rocky's assault trial, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Rapper A$AP Rocky has been found guilty of assault in Sweden tied to an altercation in June, but was given a suspended sentence and has been ordered to pay 12,500 Swedish krona — about $1,300 — to the victim.

Bystanders, and Rocky himself, caught bits and pieces of the incident on video, some of which showed Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, and his crew attempting to de-escalate the situation and walk away, while other videos appeared to show the rapper throwing the 19-year-old victim to the ground.

The incident led to Rocky being arrested and held in jail for several weeks in Stockholm, garnering interest from fans, celebrities and President Trump, who then sent his special envoy for hostage affairs to watch Rocky's trial.

Rocky was released from prison earlier this month pending the verdict, and returned to the U.S. shortly afterwards.

Two other members of Rocky's entourage were also ordered to pay damages to the victim.

Rocky responded to the guilty verdict on his Instagram account. "I am of course disappointed by today's verdict," he wrote. "I want to say thanks again to all of my fans, friends, and everyone who showed me love during this difficult time."

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Andrew Limbong is a reporter and producer for NPR's Arts Desk, where he reports, produces, and mixes arts and culture pieces of all kinds. Previously, he was a producer and director for Tell Me More. He originally started at NPR in 2011 as an intern for All Things Considered.
KCUR prides ourselves on bringing local journalism to the public without a paywall — ever.

Our reporting will always be free for you to read. But it's not free to produce.

As a nonprofit, we rely on your donations to keep operating and trying new things. If you value our work, consider becoming a member.