# Johnny Somali

Ramsey Khalid Ismael (born September 26, 2000), better known by his alias Johnny Somali, is an American live streamer and self-proclaimed internet troll known for his provocative and hostile behavior while traveling overseas. After getting banned from Twitch, Ismael began streaming on Kick (before being banned from that platform in May 2024) and Rumble as a tourist in Asian countries. His behavior has gotten him arrested or detained in different countries numerous times, including in Japan in 2023, Israel in early 2024, and South Korea in late 2024.
In South Korea, he faces multiple charges. Starting in November 2024, he is under a travel ban preventing him from leaving South Korea. In his first court date he pled guilty to several charges, with another trial date set for April 2025.

## Early life

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. Ismael also claimed to have been a former child soldier and a former pirate; several sources have expressed doubt about these claims.
Ismael also claims to have grown up in Scottsdale, Arizona, and graduated from Arizona State University, but he also claims to been a financial worker, or a real estate manager. Other sources cite him to be from Arizona.

## Career

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. Ismael also visited Bali, Indonesia, despite calls requesting him to be barred from entry. He began streaming in May 2023. After being banned from Twitch, he moved to Kick before being banned from that platform as well. He currently streams on Rumble.

### Japan

During his travels to Japan, Ismael made anti-Japanese taunts towards locals, which include comments about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 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. In one incident, he was confronted by an American man for his behavior, leading Ismael to state, "I'm a troll." 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 had apologized to the man. Ismael allegedly harassed Meowko, a Japanese Twitch streamer, which contributed to Ismael's subsequent ban by Twitch.
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. 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. 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".
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. 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.

### Israel

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. 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.
On April 7, 2024, Ismael was detained at a protest in Tel Aviv for sexual harassment of a female police officer. 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. He also excused his actions as being allowed because he's an American citizen. One of the men was seen holding an item, possibly a weapon, but Ismael was not assaulted with it.

### South Korea

On September 27, 2024, Ismael went to Seoul, where he got onstage during a live music performance. He also loudly played obscene noises on the subway, such as speeches by Kim Jong Un, and was ejected from a bus after loudly playing North Korean music.
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 he didn't know the significance of the statue. After this incidents, his YouTube channel was terminated. On one occasion, Ismael bought ramyeon noodles and then 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 noodles out of the store. In addition, after being barred from drinking alcohol, Ismael made sexist comments towards the worker. He was reported to the police the same day. In other incidents, he brought a bag of odorous fish to people on the street, and disrupted a bus ride.
While live streaming on multiple occasions, Ismael was assaulted by others in public. He was physically assaulted three times by various people, twice in Mapo District, and additionally by a man who reportedly came up to Ismael and said "Where are you going?" before striking him.
On November 2, 2024, Ismael was barred from leaving the country while being under probation for his earlier incidents. On November 6, Ismael uploaded an apology video in which he filmed next to the Statue of Peace saying "I want to apologize to Koreans. I didn't understand the significance of the statue." He also said: "I'm truly sorry for being disrespectful." It was also reported that there were bounties offered to reveal his location.

#### Trial

Ismael faced four charges in South Korea:
* 2 counts of "obstruction of business" in November 2024
* 2 counts of violating the Minor Crimes Act
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. In December, his trial was postponed until March 7, 2025.
The first day of his trial commenced on March 7, 2025. Ismael 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. During the trial, Ismael's incident of spilling ramyeon noodle soup 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 is scheduled April 9.
Professor Seo Kyoung-Duk of Sungshin Women's University called for a strong sentence because of Ismael's actions and comments to discourage others from engaging in similar behavior. Korean legal experts say that if sentenced Ismael will likely serve a sentence in Korea, then be deported, followed by an entry ban.