On Sunday, 30 June, rapper ASAP Rocky and his entourage encountered two young men outside a restaurant in central Stockholm. One of the young men, the injured party in today’s proceedings, approached the group. Words were exchanged, the star’s bodyguard and the man scuffled, and the man’s headphones were broken. The group left, the two young men followed, and minutes later one of them was on the ground. This far both sides were in agreement when the assault case proceedings against ASAP Rocky and his entourage started in Stockholm’s District Court today. But there were different opinions on what caused the wounds on the arms and head of the injured party.

Unclear if and how bottles were used

The main issue is whether glass bottles were used when the injured party was thrown to the ground and assaulted by the group. According to a doctor’s statement, the man had lacerations that were consistent with glass cuts.

– I thought I was going to die, the man told the court.

The defence says that these injuries could have been caused by the sharp edge of a pavement, or possibly when ASAP Rocky stepped on glass and then on the man’s arm. The man claims that he was hit with bottles on the right side of the back of his head. In court he could not say for sure who had hit him, and hospital staff did not appear to have noticed any serious injuries to his head.

”Got scared”

The man says that there was no reason to throw him to the ground, step on him and beat him. All he wanted, he says, was to enquire about his friend and get his headphones back. The defence says that the man and his friend followed ASAP Rocky’s party and that the defendants got scared for their safety when they saw their bodyguard bleeding. Their impression was that the man and his friend were armed and aggressive.

Present in court were 70 journalists from 40 media companies as well as family members of the defendants. Among a group of thirteen people were two evidently troubled parents: ASAP Rocky’s mother and the father of another defendant. They watched their sons, sighed deeply and spoke intimately with each other.

On his way out of the courtroom, ASAP Rocky smiled and waved to his mother. He is expected to be questioned later this week.