President Donald Trump attacked Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven for his inaction in freeing rapper A$AP Rocky, who was arrested for assault on July 3.

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A spokesman for the prime minister reminded Trump that in Sweden “the Government is not allowed, and will not attempt to influence the legal proceedings.”

The 30-year-old rapper’s arrest has gained a lot of attention with fellow musicians and celebrities on social media from recording artists like Justin Bieber to former football player Chad Johnson

The arrest followed an incident where Rocky and two other men allegedly assaulted a man. Rocky says he was acting in self defense. There is video evidence that shows two men following Rocky and his crew. Two of the more notable videos appear to show one of the men hitting Rocky’s security guard and subsequently breaking his headphones, which might be the reason for the two men’s persistence in following the crew. The other shows Rocky throwing one of the men to the ground.

The president also tweeted that he would “vouch” for Rocky’s bail after finishing a “very good call” with Löfven. Sweden, however, does not have a bail system like that of the United States. 

The president later tweeted that Rocky should be given his freedom because the United States does “so much” Sweden but gets nothing in return. He also made a point that “Sweden should focus on its real crime problem,” possibly alluding to a recent rise in violent crimes in the country.

Sweden’s ambassador to Washington D.C, Karin Olofsdotter, said that since the rapper’s arrest she had been forced to cut her vacation short in order to deal with the case. She said that in meeting with U.S. Congress members, they could not understand that the Swedish system does not have a bail system.

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Benjamin Wuersch

Article by Benjamin Wuersch