Rihanna celebrated A$AP Rocky’s acquittal on firearms charges with a short post on Instagram shared yesterday after the verdict was handed down.
“The glory belongs to God and God alone!” Rihanna wrote. “Thankful. Humbled by His mercy!”
Rihanna was present in the courtroom for much of the trial, which found A$AP Rocky (real name Rakim Mayers) facing two firearm assault charges stemming from a curbside altercation with former friend A$AP Relli. She was again seated in the front row of the courtroom gallery yesterday, Feb. 18, and when the not guilty verdict was handed down, Mayers jumped over the gallery wall to embrace her.
Mayers’ lawyer, Joe Tacopina, even mentioned the moment while speaking with reporters after the hearing, saying, “raw emotion” overtook his client after the verdict was announced. “I didn’t realize how athletic he was. He did a single leap [into Rihanna’s arms],” Tacopina joked. “That was happiness. Before we heard the words from the clerk, he didn’t know if he was going to be spending the next two decades in jail or going home.”
Mayers, in his own statement, thanked the jurors, saying they made “the right decision” and adding, “This whole experience has been crazy for the last four years. But I’m thankful, nonetheless, I’m thankful and feel blessed to be here right now, to be a free man talking to you all.”
Rihanna and Mayers have been dating for several years now and have two children together, RZA and Riot. Speaking with Rolling Stone after yesterday’s dramatic hearing, Tacopina noted Rihanna’s presence during the trial, and said Mayers had actually tried to keep his partner away from the courtroom, but she wouldn’t agree.
“He wanted to protect her,” Tacopina said. “But she spoke to me and said, ‘Joe, I know he doesn’t want me there, but I’m coming. That’s my partner. That’s the father of my kids. I’m coming.’”
