The rapper jumped over the railing to hug his family and partner Rihanna after the first not guilty verdict was read

A$AP Rocky (C) arrives to the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center for the sendencing in his felony assault trial in Los Angeles, California, on February 18, 2025. Photo:

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty

A$AP Rocky was found not guilty in his felony assault trial.

On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the jury acquitted the rapper — who was accused of firing a semi-automatic handgun at his former friend and A$AP Mob member A$AP Relli in an altercation in November 2021 — of two charges of felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

Before the verdict was announced at Los Angeles’ Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, each jury member agreed the outcome was their “individual true and correct verdict.”

A$AP Rocky appears in court on Feb. 18, 2025. Daniel Cole-Pool/Getty

After the first verdict was read, Rocky immediately jumped over the stand to hug his mother, sister and partner Rihanna. He also told the jury, “Thank y’all for saving my life. Thank y’all for making the right decision.”

The judge also thanked the jury for their time. “We cannot have jury trials without folks like you.”

Rihanna also expressed gratitude following Rocky’s acquittal, writing on her Instagram Stories: “The glory belongs to God and God alone!”

“Thankful, humbled by His mercy!” she added with a praying hands emoji.

rihanna/Instagram

On Friday, Feb. 13, the defense and prosecution concluded their closing statements and District Attorney John Lewin asked the jury not to be swayed by Rihanna‘s presence in the court.

“This is not something you’re allowed to consider,” Lewin told the jury in downtown Los Angeles of the pop star and the couple’s two sons, RZA, 2½, and Riot, 18 months “We are all responsible for what we do.”

He continued, “I want to make sure that no matter how famous his [partner] is, no matter how cute his kids are, no matter how much they giggle during closing arguments… he needs to be treated like any other person. Because in the end that’s what he’s entitled to.”

The “Fashion Killa” rapper, 36, turned down a plea deal from prosecutors and opted for a jury trial instead of pleading guilty to one of two felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. He is facing up 24 years in prison if found guilty.

In opening statements, Rocky’s lawyer Joe Tacopina claimed the rapper was carrying a “prop gun” in the case of potential threats. “For Relli, it was never about justice… it’s about a man seeking a profit from a fabricated narrative,” Tacopina said. “Rocky has nothing to hide here.”

Meanwhile, the prosecution team recounted the events leading up to the altercation, claiming that Relli showed up thinking they would just “argue” and it would “repair their relationship.”

“This is not a complicated case,” Przelomiec said in his opening statement. “The defense will turn in an alternative explanation to what happened that night… we ask that you do not leave your common sense at the door.”

During closing statements, which began on Feb. 13, the prosecution claimed that the gun was a prop gun “illogical” and “absurd.”

Meanwhile, the defense told the jury there was inconsistencies in Relli’s story and he “lied to your faces.”

A$AP Rocky hugs his legal team after being found not guilty on Feb. 15, 2028. Daniel Cole-Pool/Getty

“Everything that doesn’t come from Relli shows you that this is not a real gun,” he said.

Since Jan. 29, Rihanna has shown up to the trial on several occasions to support the rapper.

In January 2024, Tacopina told reporters that the “Praise the Lord” rapper was “cool as a cucumber” after his arraignment. He also said Rocky was ready to get the trial “over with so he can start enjoying his family.” 

At a November 2023 hearing, Detective Frank Flores took the stand, and new surveillance video was unveiled where two loud pops, which the prosecution team claimed were the alleged shooting, were heard but not seen. More footage was shown in a prior hearing that month.

After reviewing the footage during the investigation, Flores claimed that Rocky had a gun in his hand during the altercation. Under cross-examination, however, he revealed the gun was never recovered. Meanwhile, the two shell casings that were recovered from the scene by Relli and turned in to police two days after the altercation had no fingerprints.

At the previous hearing, a photo of Relli’s minor injuries was displayed in the courtroom. The photo showed small patches of raw, bloody skin on the knuckles of his index, middle and ring fingers on his left hand.

Relli filed a civil lawsuit for assault, battery and emotional distress against Rocky on Aug. 10, 2022. Rocky has denied all claims.

In response to the civil complaint, Rocky’s attorney’s wrote “Defendant generally denies each and every allegation of the complaint, and specifically denies that Plaintiff has been damaged in any amount or in any way as a result of any act or omission of answering defendant. The injuries and/or damages complained of in the complaint, if any, were caused solely, directly and proximately by the negligent and/or intentional acts or omissions of person other than answering defendant.”

Relli claimed he was struck by bullet fragments after the argument and said in court that he sought necessary medical attention at a hospital in New York City.

While on the stand in November, Relli claimed they were “really cool” before tension started because Rocky found solo success and became “big-headed.”

The night of the altercation, days before Rocky was headlining ComplexCon, Relli said he overheard Rocky badmouthing him on speakerphone to another friend and decided to end their friendship.

Relli told the court in November 2023 that he later spotted Rocky with his two friends Illijah Ulanga (A$AP Illz) and Jamil Phillips (A$AP Twelvyy) in front of a parking garage on Hollywood Boulevard. Surveillance video shown in the courtroom appeared to show Rocky walking toward Relli and shoving him. The surveillance footage (with no sound) then showed the group of men involved in an altercation.

“Rocky turned around and shot at me,” Relli claimed. “It all looked like a movie.” He also testified that Rocky shot “three or four” more times at Relli, who said he used A$AP Illz as a human shield.

Rocky was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 20, 2022 and released on bail the same day, according to the Los Angeles Times.