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    In Sweden, A$AP Rocky, and a country's identity, stand trial

    by August Brown, Los Angeles Times Aug 07, 2019 6 minutes

    A brawl caught on Instagram, with foreign policy implications. Federal hostage negotiators sent to monitor courtrooms abroad. Twitter interventions from the president and lobbying efforts from Kanye West.

    The trial of A$AP Rocky in Sweden feels like "Straight Outta Compton" meets "Veep."

    The case has transfixed both the Swedish public and American hip-hop fans since Rocky, born Rakim Mayers, was arrested last month on assault charges stemming from an alleged altercation in Stockholm between him and two companions and Mustafa Jafari, a 19-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan. On Friday, Rocky, 30, was released from jail and returned to the U.S., pending a verdict expected in two weeks.

    But underneath the celebrity and American political entanglements, Rocky's case complicates debates already roiling in Swedish society. Sweden, known for its generous welfare state and status as a peaceful haven for recent migrants from the Middle East and North Africa, is again debating how best to integrate and support them. Right-wing populists have seized on some recent crimes in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods to try and thwart that mission.

    Rocky's trial has

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