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American live-streamer Johnny Somali (real name: Ramsey Khalid Ismael) has been indicted by South Korean authorities for behaving badly at a convenience store. The 24-year-old is known for performing offensive stunts while traveling in foreign countries.
The influencer slash YouTube troll will now have to face trial, according to South Korean prosecutors, and has been banned from leaving the country. He has, however, not been officially detained.
“He was indicted on Monday without detention for creating a commotion at a convenience store in October,” said a spokesman for the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday.
Ismael has been banned from multiple live-streaming platforms, including Twitch and Kick, for his behavior which in the past has included making provocative comments including racial taunts, insulting and harassing people, desecrating monuments, making fake bomb threats, recording people without their permission, trespassing, disrupting businesses, making prank Zoom calls, and inciting violent behavior.
The incident in South Korea which landed him in trouble involved Ismael making a series of videos where he is seen drinking alcohol in a convenience store and allegedly making sexist remarks before pouring instant noodles on a table.
Johnny Somali later deleted the video, but posted another one of him cleaning up the mess he made with the caption, “I AM INNOCENT. THE KOREAN GOVERNMENT AND MEDIA IS CORRUPT. I AM THE OJ SIMPSON OF ASIA. THE NORTH KOREAN STATE MEDIA WONT SHOW THIS CLIP.”
The videos, posted to Instagram last month, also show him kissing and twerking by the Statue of Peace in Seoul, which, NBC News reports, “commemorates the tens of thousands of Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japanese forces during World War II.” He also reportedly applied baby oil to the statue, suggesting he would perform lewd acts on it. He later apologized.
Another YouTuber was arrested last month for assaulting Ismael after the incident with the statue. Ismael was also beaten in Seoul on two other occasions, according to the Yonhap news agency, and a complaint was filed against him on drug and violence accusations.
The Daily Mail reports that a Korean law firm claimed if he is found guilty of the alleged drug offenses, he could face 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $95,000.