Trump urges Sweden to release A $ AP Rocky after rapper charged with assault – POLITICO

Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said: "All citizens are equal before the law" in his country.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday intensified his lobbying efforts to secure the release of US rapper A $ AP Rocky from Swedish detention, saying he was "very disappointed" by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven for not intervening while the rapper was accused of aggression.

"Very disappointed by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven for not being able to act. Sweden has dropped our African-American community in the United States. I watched A $ AP Rocky's tapes and he was followed and harbaded by troublemakers, "the president wrote on Twitter, imploring Löfven to" treat the Americans fairly! " ".

In a second tweet, Trump was more direct: "Give A $ AP Rocky his FREEDOM. We do so much for Sweden, but that does not seem to work in reverse. Sweden should focus on its real crime problem! "

Trump included the #FreeRocky hashtag at the end of both tweets.

The rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was accused of badault Thursday during a street fight, a case that caught the attention of the entire world. Rocky says that two men started following him and his entourage while he was in Stockholm for a music festival on the night of June 30, which eventually led to a fight. A footage obtained by TMZ shows the rapper throwing one of the men into the street, but he pulled out a video showing his bodyguard telling men to stop following them.

Swedish prosecutors said Thursday that Rocky 's acts still constituted a crime "despite accusations of self – defense and provocation," according to the Associated Press. The AP reports that Rocky and two other members of his entourage who were also arrested and charged remain in detention until their trial.

Trump has rallied to the cause of Rocky over the past week, at the request of the first lady, Melania Trump, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, who have worked with the White House on criminal justice issues. On Saturday, the president tweeted that he had called Löfven and "offered to personally guarantee his bail, or an alternative," and even the state department stepped in to ensure that Rocky was treated fairly .

In his press release, Löfven however stated that "in Sweden, all are equal before the law" and that he was ready to engage Trump, he "is sure to point out the complete independence of the judiciary, prosecutors and Swedish courts. "