For
people
who
don’t
watch
online
videos
designed
to
enrage
people,
you
may
not
have
heard
of
Johnny
Somali.
Somali
is
infamous
for
his
rage
bait
or
nuisance
livestream
videos
in
other
countries.
But
Somali
learned
that
South
Korea
does
not
play
around.
On
April
15,
2026,
the
Seoul
Western
District
Court
convicted
Somali
(whose
real
name
is
Ramsey
Khalid
Ismael)
on
four
counts
of
obstruction
of
business,
two
under
the
Minor
Crimes
Act,
and
two
sexual
violence
offenses
involving
nonconsensual
deepfakes.
Somali
was
sentenced
to
six
months
in
a
labor
prison,
plus
20
extra
days
in
detention.
He
was
taken
into
custody
immediately
as
a
flight
risk.
Somali
first
went
viral
in
2023
in
Japan.
He
rode
Tokyo
trains
blasting
racist
taunts
about
Hiroshima
and
Nagasaki
saying
“We’ll
do
it
again”
while
filming
commuters’
reactions
for
views.
He
trespassed
on
an
Osaka
construction
site,
yelling
“Fukushima!”
at
workers.
The
trespassing
charge
was
dropped,
but
he
was
convicted
in
January
2024
of
obstructing
business
after
storming
into
a
gyudon
restaurant,
cranking
his
phone
volume
to
ear-splitting
levels,
and
refusing
to
turn
it
down.
Osaka
District
Court
fined
him
¥200,000
(about
$1,400).
Japan
banned
him
from
returning.
In
2024,
Somali
was
briefly
detained
at
a
Tel
Aviv
protest
after
making
crude,
sexually
harassing
remarks
to
a
female
police
officer,
calling
her
names
and
threatening
to
“slap
that
a**.”
Then
he
went
to
Seoul.
There,
he
live-streamed
himself
kissing,
twerking,
and
performing
a
lap
dance
on
the
“Statue
of
Peace,”
a
monument
honoring
Korean
“comfort
women”
forced
into
sexual
slavery
by
the
Japanese
military
during
World
War
II.
He
later
claimed
ignorance
of
its
meaning
and
issued
a
half-hearted
apology.
South
Koreans
were
not
amused.
For
this,
Somali
was
charged
for
public
nuisance
in
November
2024.
He
later
went
on
a
nuisance
spree
in
Korea
doing
things
like
blasting
loud
music
and
dumping
noodles
on
a
table
inside
a
convenience
store,
harassing
staff
and
visitors
at
an
amusement
park,
playing
North
Korean
propaganda
in
public,
and
causing
disturbances
on
buses
and
subways.
This
led
to
the
charges
that
eventually
landed
him
in
jail.
So
is
the
six-month
sentence
too
light?
Some
seem
to
think
so
and
believe
he
should
have
been
sentenced
to
three
years
as
recommended
by
the
prosecutor.
The
prosecutor
has
the
right
to
appeal
the
sentence
and
request
a
longer
one.
The
Constitution
of
the
Republic
of
Korea
has
a
double
jeopardy
clause.
But
since
Korea
follows
a
civil
law
system
unlike
the
U.S.,
the
double
jeopardy
clause
kicks
in
once
the
Supreme
Court
of
Korea
rules
on
the
issue.
So
it
is
possible
that
Somali
can
get
a
longer
jail
sentence
which
many
people
seem
to
want.
But
Somali
is
a
foreigner.
After
his
six
months
are
up,
he
will
be
on
the
first
plane
leaving
Korea
likely
never
to
return
again.
There
is
a
good
possibility
that
he
when
he
returns
to
the
U.S.,
he
will
rage
against
Korea,
the
judge,
the
prosecutor,
and
the
people.
But
assuming
he
stays
relevant,
at
least
no
one
in
Korea
will
have
to
worry
about
Somali
again.
Somali
is
probably
one
of
a
few
foreigners
in
a
Korean
jail.
The
language
barrier
can
make
following
prison
staff
orders
difficult.
And
some
prison
staff
and
inmates
may
know
about
his
antics.
So
the
longer
he
stays
in
jail,
the
more
likely
the
chance
of
something
happening
to
him.
If
Somali
gets
hurt
or
worse
in
jail,
it
may
create
a
diplomatic
incident.
President
Trump
has
recently
criticized
South
Korea
for
not
helping
the
U.S.
in
its
war
with
Iran.
In
addition
to
his
six
months,
Somali
is
also
required
to
register
as
a
sex
offender
in
Korea.
Somali
may
not
care
since
he
is
likely
to
be
permanently
banished
from
the
country
anyway.
But
he
may
have
to
register
as
a
sex
offender
when
he
returns
to
the
U.S.
pursuant
to
the
Sex
Offender
Registration
and
Notification
Act
(SORNA).
And
his
antics
will
probably
prevent
him
from
getting
a
visa
to
travel
to
other
countries
as
well.
Somali’s
conviction
should
serve
as
a
warning
to
nuisance
streamers.
What
happened
to
Somali
in
Korea
will
likely
be
followed
in
other
countries.
While
it
is
easier
to
send
a
foreigner
nuisance
back
to
where
they
came
from,
countries
may
be
more
willing
to
send
them
to
jail
where
they
will
face
a
language
barrier,
be
singled
out
by
staff
and
inmates,
and
worst
of
all,
be
away
from
their
precious
audience
as
they
are
forced
into
irrelevancy.
Steven
Chung
is
a
tax
attorney
in
Los
Angeles,
California.
He
helps
people
with
basic
tax
planning
and
resolve
tax
disputes.
He
is
also
sympathetic
to
people
with
large
student
loans.
He
can
be
reached
via
email
at [email protected].
Or
you
can
connect
with
him
on
Twitter
(@stevenchung)
and
connect
with
him
on LinkedIn.