An American live streamer was arrested and faces jail time in South Korea after he caused disruptions and partook in repeated offensive behavior in public.
Johnny Somali, whose birth name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, is known for streaming while traveling to countries, including Israel, Thailand and Japan and pulling provocative stunts in those places. He was banned on social media platforms like Kick and Twitch but posts on Rumble and TikTok, according to Newsweek.
The 24-year-old was arrested in November after causing a “commotion” at a 7-Eleven convenience store and live streaming the incident. He was filmed drinking alcohol and pouring instant noodles on a table before cleaning up the mess, NBC News reported.
Ismael’s trial is set to begin on Dec. 20, according to YouTube lawyer Legal Mindset per Newsweek’s report. He is being charged with obstruction of business and faces up to five years of jail time. Ismael could face additional charges due to being seen saying that he had a bomb while on a train.
As NBC News reported, he also caused controversy over his conduct at “around the Statue of Peace in Seoul, also known as the Comfort Woman statue, which commemorates the tens of thousands of Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japanese forces during World War II.” He printed photographs of himself kissing the statue and distributed them to passersby.
“If authorities determine that Johnny’s statements posed a legitimate threat to public safety or were made with the intent to incite public violence, he could face additional penalties, including asset seizure and restrictions on communication,” Legal Mindset said in an interview with Dextero.
Ismael has caused similar disturbances in Japan, where he was seen making threats against the Japanese prime minister, insulting locals and referencing the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
In March, he traveled to Israel, where he got into altercations and fights with locals. He was detained for allegedly harassing a female police officer, and was seen posting photographs of Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein on the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
John Lie, a sociology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told CNN that Ismael’s stunts are a reminder that every country has its own culture and boundaries. He also noted that his behavior appeared to be done in a “quest to be a social media celebrity.”
“There’s nothing significant there save his provocateur persona: a garden-variety character in today’s social mediascape,” Lie added.
Partaking in disturbances in order to incite outrage while traveling abroad is nothing new. In 2018, Logan Paul sparked outrage during his trip to Tokyo. According to BBC, he filmed a dead body and was recorded yelling and throwing food and props at passersby.
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