After a Swedish prosecutor charged American rapper A$AP Rocky with assault on Thursday, President Trump waited a few hours before slamming Sweden and its prime minister on Twitter. Lots of celebrities are pushing for A$AP Rocky's release, but Trump seemed most upset that Sweden insists on maintaining an independent judiciary.
"Very disappointed in Prime Minister Stefan Löfven for being unable to act," Trump tweeted Thursday evening. "Sweden has let our African American Community down in the United States. I watched the tapes of A$AP Rocky, and he was being followed and harassed by troublemakers. Treat Americans fairly!" The president added in a second tweet: "Give A$AP Rocky his FREEDOM. We do so much for Sweden but it doesn't seem to work the other way around."
The Stockholm prosecutor, Daniel Suneson, explained when charging A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, that he had "studied the videos made available to the inquiry" and emphasized that "I have had access to a greater amount of material than that which has previously been available on the internet."
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After Trump called Lofven on Saturday to push for his intervention in the case, Lofven's press secretary described the conversation as "friendly and respectful" but said the prime minister "made certain to emphasize the complete independence of the Swedish judicial system, prosecutors, and courts," and said the government would not and could not attempt to steer the case. On Friday, responding to Trump's tweets, another Lofven spokesman, Mikael Lindstrom, reiterated: "The government is not allowed, and will not attempt, to influence the legal proceedings, which are now ongoing."
A$AP Rocky's trial will take place between July 30 and Aug. 2.
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