A$AP Rocky was acquitted on both counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm this week, though jurors admitted they believed the gun involved was real.
The jury, which consisted of seven women and five men, deliberated for just over three hours on Tuesday (February 18) before reaching their verdict. Afterward, one of the jurors, speaking with YouTuber NiqueAtNite, revealed that while they believed the gun was real, they couldn’t find sufficient evidence to convict him.
“We all thought a crime had been committed,” the juror shared, “but with the legal instructions we were given, we just didn’t feel there was enough evidence to convict.”
In the trial, A$AP Rocky claimed the weapon was a prop gun used to fire a warning shot during an altercation with A$AP Relli in November 2021. During closing arguments, prosecutor Paul Przelomiec focused the case on whether the gun was real or fake. At the same time, the judge reminded the jury that self-defense could be a valid justification if Rocky had reasonably believed he was in imminent danger.
One juror noted, “Most of us felt the gun was real. Unfortunately, we didn’t find the testimony of many witnesses to be reliable.” The juror added that the defense’s claim about the prop gun disappearing was “a little mysterious,” but ultimately, they stuck to the evidence presented and the legal instructions they were given, leading to the acquittal.
Another juror told Rolling Stone that the verdict was grounded in the principle of “reasonable doubt.” “We spent a lot of time discussing that concept and the evidence chain, setting aside personalities.”
After the verdict, Rocky addressed the media outside the courthouse, expressing gratitude: “Thank God first. You gotta thank God first. And I really wanna thank the jury for making the right decision. I’m just so thankful. This is crazy right now. This whole experience has been crazy for the past four years, but I’m thankful nonetheless. We’re blessed to be here right now, to be a free man talking to y’all. All praise be to God.”