A$AP Rocky found guilty of Sweden assault, won’t face prison

STOCKHOLM — American rapper A$AP Rocky was found guilty of assault Wednesday in Sweden, where his jailing after a Stockholm street brawl drew the close attention of President Trump.

A judge and jury found the rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, and his two bodyguards hit and kicked a 19-year-old man during the June 30 fight. The defendants did not have to be at Stockholm District Court for the verdict and don’t face an immediate return to detention.

After nearly a month behind bars, the three were released Aug. 2 and returned to the United States. The court gave them “conditional sentences” for the assault convictions, meaning they don’t have to serve prison time unless they commit a similar offense in Sweden again.

They were ordered to a pay a total of $1,310 in compensation to the victim.

Slobodan Jovicic, the Grammy-nominated artist’s Swedish defense lawyer, said he had been looking for “a complete acquittal” and was disappointed by the verdict.

Mayers had pleaded self-defense. He said the fight happened after he tried to avoid a confrontation with two men he claimed had persisted in following his entourage. One of them picked a fight with one of the bodyguards, Mayers, 30, said during his trial.

But the court concluded the defendants “were not in a situation where they were entitled to self-defense.”

Trump intervened on behalf of the rapper while he was jailed. Trump called Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, offering to personally guarantee his bail, but the Swedish leader said he couldn’t interfere in a legal case.

David Keyton is an Associated Press writer.