President Trump’s new national security adviser, Robert C. O’Brien, went to Sweden at the end of July to help secure the release of rap star A$AP Rocky.
Rocky, who’s birth name is Rakim Mayers, spent weeks in a Swedish prison after a street fight took place in Stockholm on July 2. A number of celebrities supported the embattled rap star and Trump took an interest in the case. The president ultimately decided to send O’Brien, Trump’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, to Sweden to be in the courtroom alongside Rocky.
Very disappointed in Prime Minister Stefan Löfven for being unable to act. Sweden has let our African American Community down in the United States. I watched the tapes of A$AP Rocky, and he was being followed and harassed by troublemakers. Treat Americans fairly! #FreeRocky
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2019
“The president asked me to come here and support these American citizens,” Mr. O’Brien said in an interview with the New York Times. “I’ll be here until they come home.”
When asked if he had ever been sent by the president to monitor a criminal case in a foreign country, he answered, “When foreign governments hold Americans they always claim it’s a criminal case.”
A panel of four judges found Rocky guilty of assault but he was not required to serve jail time. He and his two bodyguards involved in the fight were ordered to pay the victim damages. The victim, Mustafa Jafari, asked for about $16,000 in compensation but the court awarded him only approximately $1,300 for pain and injuries.
We appreciate the decision of Swedish prison authorities to expedite paperwork & allow the parents of A$AP Rocky, David Rispers & Bladimir Corniel to visit their sons in the detention facility. The guards were professional & treated the family & US diplomats with respect.
— U.S. Special Presidential Envoy O’Brien (@StateSPEHA) August 1, 2019
O’Brien later tweeted, “We appreciate the decision of Swedish prison authorities to expedite paperwork & allow the parents of A$AP Rocky, David Rispers & Bladimir Corniel to visit their sons in the detention facility. The guards were professional & treated the family & US diplomats with respect.”
