South Korean police have arrested controversial American YouTuber/Streamer Johnny Somali after angering locals through a series of public antics.
Somali, who’s real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, was live streaming on Sunday when he was physically assaulted by an unknown, masked individual, who was later arrested.
The Standard reports police then took Somali into custody for his own protection.
A video taken later that day shows Ismael in the back of a police car, drinking soju, and antagonizing police officers and Korean citizens.
“Americans have way more freedom here. These n****s protecting us, we in the back of a police car. Come and get us! Come get us!”, said Ismael in one of the clips.
The assault and arrest came in the aftermath of a streak of offensive behaviors filmed by Ismael during his time in South Korea.
In Oct. 9, Ismael uploaded a video of himself kissing and twerking on the Statue of Peace in Seoul, reported the Korea JoongAng Daily. The Statue of Peace is a symbol of Korean comfort women – women and girls who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army during colonial rule over Korea from 1910 – 1945.
During the livestream, he justified his actions by saying that “Japan hates these things. I love Korea, and everything that I did in Japan was for Korean and Chinese people.”.
In a Oct. 17 video, Ismael reportedly was shown pouring instant noodles on a convenience store table after an employee stopped him from drinking alcohol.
Other incidents in South Korea include him playing loud, explicit noises on a subway and playing North Korean music on buses before being kicked off.
He was previously confronted by police for a disturbance at an amusement park, according to The Korea Daily. When Ismael announced his trip to South Korea in a now-deleted tweet, he said that he planned to “slap the sh*t out of a BTS member for no reason”.
In response, while Ismael was live streaming with his friends in Seoul on Thursday, an unknown man punched him in the face, grabbed and threw away his phone, and ran away, according to The Sun.
This isn’t the first time the live-streamer has angered locals with his provocative actions. He had previously gained notoriety for his antics in Japan in 2023, which include making offensive remarks on a subway about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, yelling “Fukushima” at construction workers in Osaka. Ismael also filmed himself shouting “Fukushima! Atomic bombs! Shinzo Abe!”, while walking around Tokyo Disneyland. He would be arrested for trespassing after playing explicit audios on a train, reportedly receiving a ¥200,000 ($1,400) fine, and being banned from Japan.
Earlier this year, Ismael received a 50 day ban from Jerusalem after pinning photographs of Jeffery Epstein, Harvey Weinstein, and streamer Adin Ross onto the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites for Jews. He would be arrested in Tel Aviv in April after allegedly sexually harassing a female police officer during an anti-government protest.
Since Ismael’s arrest, his YouTube channel of 19,000 subscribers appears to have been taken down, according to The Standard. The Standard also mentions that Ismael has also been banned from Twitch, but moved to other streaming platforms such as Kick and Rumble. However, Kick has hit Ismael with several temporary bans for his inaproptiate behavior.
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