Johnny Somali | |
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Personal information | |
Born | Ramsey Khalid Ismael September 26, 2000 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
YouTube information | |
Subscribers | 20.7 thousand (old channel) |
Views | 5.4 million (old channel) (October 27, 2024) |
Ramsey Khalid Ismael (born September 26, 2000), better known as Johnny Somali, is an American former live streamer, convicted criminal, and self-proclaimed internet troll [1] known for his provocative and hostile behavior while traveling overseas. [2] [3] After getting banned from Twitch, Ismael began streaming on Kick (before being banned from that platform in May 2024) and subsequently Rumble and Parti while visiting Asian countries. [4] His behavior has resulted in his arrest and detention in various countries multiple times, including in Japan in 2023, [5] Israel in early 2024, [6] and South Korea in late 2024. [7]
In 2024, multiple charges were filed against Ismael in South Korea and he is under a travel ban preventing him from leaving the country from November. [8] In his first court date he pleaded guilty to several charges. [9] In his second court date, he pleaded guilty to two more charges and pleaded not guilty to two sexual violence charges. [10] In his third court date, he pleaded guilty to another charge with another trial date set for October 2025. [11]
Ismael has reportedly made several conflicting claims about his ethnicity. He reportedly once claimed to have been born to a Somali father and an Ethiopian mother. [12] Ismael also claimed to have been a former child soldier in the ongoing Somali Civil War and a former Somalian pirate; several sources have expressed doubt about these claims. [13] [14]
Ismael also claims to have grown up in Scottsdale, Arizona, and graduated from Arizona State University, [15] but he also claims to have been a financial worker and a real estate manager. [14] A source cites him as being an Arizona native. [16]
Ismael mostly streams himself on video streaming platforms such as YouTube and Kick as a tourist travelling in different countries, in particular Japan, Thailand, and Israel. [17] Ismael also visited Bali, Indonesia, despite calls requesting him to be barred from entry. [18] He began streaming in May 2023. After being banned from Twitch, he moved to Kick before being banned from that platform as well. [15] In 2024, he streamed on Rumble. [7] He currently streams on Parti, an alternative streaming platform which banned him for 24 hours after breaking the Terms of Service. [19]
During his travels to Japan, Ismael made anti-Japanese taunts towards locals, [20] which include comments about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, [21] and threatened to bomb Japan with nuclear weapons on a train. Ismael was occasionally assaulted and called racial slurs by locals who recognized him in public. [22] In one incident, he was confronted by an American man for his behavior, leading Ismael to state, "I'm a troll". [1] The American man was praised by many people on the internet for his actions, while Ismael claimed to have been drunk at the time and apologized to the man. [23] Ismael also harassed Meowko, a Japanese Twitch streamer, which contributed to Ismael's subsequent 72-hour ban by Kick, which came after Ismael had already been permanently banned by Twitch; however, she walked away from him after he bragged that she could be banned if she showed him on her stream, eventually bursting into tears and ending the stream. [24]
In June 2023, Ismael went to Tokyo Disney Resort and played music with lyrics containing the phrase "atomic bomb" and recorded guests' reactions without their permission.
In August 2023, Ismael, who was masked, and Jeremiah Dwane Branch, who was recording for him, went into a hotel construction site in Osaka, where he then yelled "Fukushima" at the construction workers. After the construction workers kicked them out, Ismael and Branch were both arrested on suspicion of trespassing. [25] [26] [27] In September, they were arrested on the suspicion of conspiracy of obstruction of business when they disrupted a restaurant by playing extremely loud noises and music during business hours. [28] [29] He claimed that the reason the music was playing was because of the phone producer, Huawei, who "put a Chinese virus on the phone". This was later brought up in court, where the judge found him guilty and stated, "he could've just turned down the volume on his phone". [30]
On December 19, 2023, Ismael, who had been in custody since his second arrest, appeared at the Osaka District Court on the charge of conspiracy of obstruction of business. [31] The charge of trespassing on a construction site was dropped. Prosecutors requested that he be fined ¥200,000 (equivalent to US$1,400). A verdict of guilt was reached on January 10, 2024. [32] [33]
On March 25, 2024, Ismael went to Tel Aviv, Israel, where he became involved in altercations with local Arab and Jewish people there. He was then confronted and beaten.[ citation needed ] On April 5, 2024, he traveled to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where he began live-streaming. He filmed himself attaching images of Harvey Weinstein, Adin Ross, and Jeffrey Epstein to the wall. [34]
On April 7, 2024, Ismael was detained at a protest in Tel Aviv for sexual harassment of a female police officer. [34] After his release 16 minutes later, Ismael went live again on the same day and claimed to have witnessed a mass shooting at a restaurant. Ismael justified these actions by stating that his status as an American citizen made the act permissible. [35] One of the men was seen holding an item, possibly a weapon, but Ismael was not assaulted with it. [34]
On September 27, 2024, Ismael went to Seoul, where he got onstage during a live music performance.[ citation needed ] He also played loud, offensive noises on the subway, such as speeches by Kim Jong Un, and was ejected from a bus after playing loud North Korean music. [36] [37]
On October 7, 2024, Ismael kissed and performed lap dances on the Statue of Peace, a memorial that commemorates young comfort women (sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II), though he later apologized for his actions, claiming to be unaware of its significance. [7] [38] After this incident, his YouTube channel was terminated. [39] On one occasion, Ismael bought ramyeon noodles and purposefully poured it on a table in the dining area. After being confronted by the store owner and told to leave, Ismael proceeded to throw some of the noodles, making a mess. In addition, after being barred from drinking alcohol, Ismael made sexist comments towards the worker. [40] He was reported to the police the same day. [8] Ismael also harassed people on the street with a bag of odorous fish, and he disrupted a bus ride. [41]
On October 28, 2024, Ismael's YouTube channel was hacked [42] and later deleted after it streamed pornographic content. [43] While live streaming on multiple occasions, Ismael was assaulted by others in public. [44] He was physically assaulted three times by various people, twice in Mapo District, and once by a man who reportedly approached Ismael, asking "Where are you going?" before striking Ismael. [45]
On November 2, 2024, Ismael was barred from leaving the country while under probation for his earlier incidents. [46] On November 6, Ismael uploaded an apology video in which he filmed next to the Statue of Peace and attempted to defend himself: "I didn't understand the significance of the statue", elaborating: "I'm truly sorry for being disrespectful." [38] It was also reported that there were bounties offered to reveal his location. [47] On April 9, 2025, Ismael was investigated for acts of child sexual harassment in South Korea when he allegedly used a text-to-speech application to target minors with explicit content. [48]
As of August 13, 2025, Ismael faces eight charges in South Korea.
Charge | Plea | Penalty |
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Special act of sexual violence crimes count 1 [49] [50] | Not guilty | 10.5 years maximum |
Special act of sexual violence crimes count 2 [49] [50] | Not guilty | 10.5 years maximum |
Minor crimes act count 1 [51] | Guilty | 30 days maximum |
Minor crimes act count 2 [51] | Guilty | 30 days maximum |
Interference of business count 1 [52] [10] | Guilty | 5 years maximum |
Interference of business count 2 [52] [10] | Guilty | 5 years maximum |
Interference of business count 3 [52] [10] | Guilty | 5 years maximum |
Interference of business count 4 [11] [53] | Guilty | 5 years maximum |
On November 11, Ismael was indicted by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office on charges of "obstruction of business" over the October 17 incident at the convenience store. A travel ban linked to the case prevents him from leaving South Korea. [54] In December, his trial was postponed until March 7, 2025. [55]
Ismael's trial commenced on March 7, 2025. He arrived an hour late, citing a stomachache. He attempted to enter the courtroom wearing a MAGA hat, but was prevented from doing so by the courtroom rules, repeatedly putting it on despite being told to remove it. [56] During the trial, Ismael's incident of spilling ramyeon noodles on a table at a convenience store in Mapo-gu was charged as an obstruction of business. He was also charged for causing discomfort by approaching pedestrians in Mapo-gu with a bag of rotten fish, and disturbing commuters on a bus and subway by playing loud music and dancing, together constituting two violations of the Minor Crimes Act. He plead guilty to three charges (1 obstruction of business and 2 Minor Crimes Act violations). The next trial date was scheduled to be on April 9, but was later rescheduled to May 16. [9] [56] [57]
Professor Seo Kyoung-Duk of Sungshin Women's University called for a strong sentence because of Ismael's actions and discouraged others from engaging in similar behavior. [58] Seo further criticized Ismael for calling South Korea a U.S. "vassal state". [59] South Korean legal experts say that if sentenced Ismael will likely serve a sentence in South Korea, then be deported, followed by an entry ban. [60]
As of May 2025, Ismael faces two charges of sexual violence. In March 2025, authorities added a sexual charge onto Ismael's case for creating a fabricated pornographic deepfake, depicting a female South Korean streamer and himself without consent. [49] Then in May 2025, a second sexual charge was added onto Ismael's case for another fabricated pornographic deepfake, depicting another South Korean streamer without consent. [50] Ismael's second trial commenced on May 16, 2025. During the trial, Ismael plead guilty to two more charges (2 obstruction of business, including a newly added charge) and not guilty to the two Special Act on Sexual Violence Crimes charges. The next trial date is scheduled to be on August 13. [10]
Ismael's third trial commenced on August 13, 2025. During the trial, Ismael changed his position on one of the obstruction of business charge to a guilty plea due to a witness from Lotte World showing up to testify against him. Ismael also pleaded guilty to a fourth charge of obstruction of business. [11] The next trial date is scheduled to be on October 29. [53]
Este altercado tuvo lugar en octubre. En ese momento, ante el enfado del dueño del local por las molestias que estaba causando, comentó que toda la culpa era de su móvil. "Es un Huawei, fabricado en China y con un virus chino", se le puede escuchar diciendo en el polémico vídeo, que llevó a muchos internautas japoneses a pedir su detención.[This altercation took place in October. At that moment, faced with the anger of the owner of the premises for the inconvenience he was causing, he commented that his cell phone was all to blame. "It's a Huawei, made in China and with a Chinese virus," he can be heard saying in the controversial video, which led many Japanese Internet users to call for his arrest.]