The A$AP Rocky assault case gets more confusing as the trial cranks along.
After the Harlem-born rapper pleaded not guilty to assault, Swedish prosecutors unveiled a never-before-seen video of what appears to be the bodyguard snatching the alleged victim by the throat, lifting him off the ground and then slamming him to the ground.
TMZ got ahold of the video surveillance of the bodyguard speaking to a young man named Mustafa Jafari outside a restaurant in Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden, before he lifts Jafari off his feet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqdKZprbGrQ
Police and prosecutors said resolutely that Jafari was within his legal rights to defend himself after being assaulted by the bodyguard. The footage allegedly happened just before Mustafa threw punches at the bodyguard and hit him with a set of headphones.
Jafari told authorities and prosecutors he was scared he was going to die when he was beat down by A$AP Rocky, 30, and his crews just minutes later, TMZ reports.
The confusing part of the trial for many observers is this: if Jafari was within his legal rights to defend himself against the bodyguard’s assault, as prosecutors told the media earlier, then why was A$AP’s bodyguard let go from jail without being charged?
Jafari and the bodyguard were set free after questioning in early July 2019, while Rocky, aka Rakim Mayers, faces up to two years in a Swedish prison. This prompted an outcry from the hip-hop community, including Snoop Dogg, Travis Scott, Rihanna and Kanye West. Kanye managed to get his wife, Kim Kardashian West, to contact President Donald Trump, who then contacted the Swedish prime minister in an effort to untangle A$AP from the imbroglio. The call did not work.
Another question that A$AP fans and fellow members of the hip-hop community have asked is why will there be no penalty for the two Swedish men who aggressively followed A$AP and his crew, taunting them repeatedly before the beatdown commenced? Is there more to the prosecution’s case?
Perhaps more answers will be uncovered when Jafari is cross-examined in court on Thursday, Aug. 1.
