A controversial American live-streamer is facing the prospect of prison in South Korea for his offensive antics, in a case that is shining a light on the rise of so-called “nuisance influencers” seeking clicks overseas.
Ramsey Khalid Ismael, 24, commonly known by his online alias, “Johnny Somali,” has been indicted of causing a “commotion” at a convenience store, Seoul prosecutors confirmed to CNN. If convicted he faces up to five years in prison.
A departure ban has also been placed on Ismael, preventing him from leaving the country while authorities continue their investigation, CNN affiliate MBC News reported.
CNN has reached out to Ismael for comment. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
Earlier this month, Ismael posted an online apology after he was accused of desecrating a South Korean monument to women subjected to sexual slavery in World War II, causing widespread outrage in the country.
Angry locals threatened reprisals against the live-streamer in online posts following the incident. Footage subsequently broadcast by CNN affiliate JTBC showed Ismael being kicked as a group of people followed him. Separately, a man was arrested in Seoul last month for allegedly punching Ismael in the face, the Yonhap News Agency reported. Seoul police declined to comment.
I hope the judge not only decides the guy at the end is innocent, but gives him a fucking medal.
The amount of colossal privilege you must think you have to think you can just desecrate a memorial to rape victims…
He’s a racist piece of shit who deserves it too
I hope that cunt rots behind bars. He clearly didn’t learn his lesson in Japan.
I’m not sure rotting is going to be an option. You reckon any of those Korean cons are going to be happier to see him than the guys who’ve been hunting him down on the outside? I don’t, and these dudes don’t have to follow a twitch stream to know where he is. I reckon he’s going to gain a new understanding of what the comfort women went through pretty quickly. My money wouldn’t be on him surviving a 16yr stretch in all honesty
The live-streamer has a combined following in the low five figures across Instagram, TikTok and Rumble.
So he’s nobody. Why is CNN even writing about this?
Because dude has been a nuisance in three damn countries now. I live in Osaka, and so many of us foreigners here completely hate that effer because he’s making us look bad. He was all over the news here because of the way he was acting.
Nobody is nobody. A story like this raises awareness. Both lets people know that one of our own (rightfully) got himself detained in South Korea and tells people to stop being shitheads for likes. Unless you’re running for president, then they’ll give you free publicity!
I mean, this also sounds like free publicity. The kind that would turn this nobody into a celebrity. After all, we’re talking about him.
Nah, he’s been banned on almost every platform, and by the time he gets out of jail, no one will remember his name
He’s already a celebrity, though. Just because you didn’t know of him doesn’t change that. Tens of thousands of followers is a lot of people.
This has been covered previously by some sites but it doesn’t put much weight on the issue. But when the mainstream media start to cover a story like this, we knows that it’s no longer small talks: My previous take.
wiki says 18k yt subs and another 13k on kick, that’s still pretty close to nobody
Can we go after the platforms that are the underlying reason for their behaviour also? In this case, I believe it’s Rumble. Edit: Tiktok, too.
American eh? Nope, I don’t recognize him. Do what you want with that one, it’s fine by us.
How can he be American if he has Israel and Somalia in his names?
He must be from Mexico or something
Nah he is clearly from Greenland or maybe Tahiti.
