A$AP Relli to pursue civil lawsuit of assault and battery against A$AP Rocky
Although A$AP Rocky was acquitted earlier this month after a trial concerning a 2021 incident with a firearm, the rapper’s accuser is not satisfied with the result and plans to move ahead with a civil lawsuit despite his loss of the federal lawsuit.
A$AP Relli, who accused his former friend A$AP Rocky of assaulting him with a semiautomatic firearm in 2021, lost his trial after a jury provided a not-guilty verdict in a Los Angeles court. Still, Relli is sure that the jury got it wrong and has chosen to pursue his civil lawsuit. However, this lawsuit only pursues charges of battery and assault.
Although the three-week trial of A$AP Rocky was tense and tiresome, the judge unveiled that Relli had the right to continue pursuing his civil lawsuit despite the not-guilty verdict given by the jury in the federal case. The judge then set the trial date for January 12th, 2026.
Following the jury’s announcement, A$AP Relli’s lawyer, Melissa Mikail, told the courtroom, “We intend to continue litigating this case. The standard in a criminal case is much higher than the preponderance of the evidence standard in a civil matter. We still believe that our claims have merit, and we intend on fully litigating them.”
In his previous lawsuit, Relli alleged that A$AP Rocky pulled out a firearm and fired it at him at Hollywood’s Selma Avenue. The incident supposedly happened after a heated verbal altercation on November 6th 2021. In the criminal case, while recalling the event, Relli told the jury that he felt a hot sensation on his left hand and believed a bullet grazed him.
Still, Relli’s behaviour in the courtroom was reportedly erratic and unsettling. Several outlets detailed how, during a cross-examination by Joe Tacopina, Relli began shouting at the Live.Love.A$AP creator. In fact, it was so bad it warranted a recess so that his lawyer could calm him down and give him instructions on how to conduct himself during the examination.
Throughout this ordeal, A$AP Rocky has maintained his innocence, and although the tough case took the jury a little more than three hours to decide the rapper’s fate, the jury insisted that, in their opinion, there was not enough evidence to sentence him. When Rocky heard the verdict, he jumped over a high courtroom barrier to hug his popstar girlfriend Rihanna, who was seated in the front row and regularly attended court hearings. He also hugged his attorneys, Joe Tacopina and Chad Siegel.
Although the presiding judge of the criminal trial has allowed Relli to carry on pursuing a civil case, Rocky’s civil lawyer, James Sargent, has vehemently opposed Relli’s claims and believes he doesn’t deserve another trial, telling the Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William Fahey, “My position is there’s no longer a basis for them. Mr. Ephron testified in the criminal case as to the facts and circumstances. The jury’s acquittal speaks volumes as to how they valued that testimonial evidence.”