An American YouTuber, known for a number of controversial stunts, has been sentenced to six months behind bars.
Ramsey Khalid Ismael, who goes by Johnny Somali online, got in trouble for things like dancing on and kissing a statue dedicated to victims of wartime sexual slavery.
A court in Seoul found him guilty on several counts, including getting in the way of businesses and sharing fake explicit content.
After the ruling, he was taken straight into custody.
He had already been banned from leaving the country since 2024 because authorities believed he might try to flee.
Prosecutors had pushed for a much longer sentence of three years.
The charges against him went beyond the statue incident too. Aside from that, he also got in trouble for bothering people at an amusement park, and causing disruptions in a convenience store by blasting music and making a mess.
He also pulled similar antics on public transit.
At one point, he also played the North Korean national anthem loudly in public, which is a public offence in South Korea.
There were also allegations tied to non-consensual deepfake videos.
The court said his actions showed clear disregard for local laws, and that his livestreams upset many people, especially since they were meant to generate money on YouTube.
He later said he was sorry and claimed he didn’t fully understand the meaning behind the statue at the time, and he ended up deleting the video.
Along with the prison sentence, he was given an extra 20 days in detention and will not be allowed to work with children or people with disabilities for five years after getting out.
Judges said his actions repeatedly targeted the public for profit, with little regard for the law.
Reports also said he seemed to show remorse before appearing in court, which likely worked in his favor; the judge noted there wasn’t significant harm done to specific victims.
This isn’t the first time he’s run into legal trouble abroad either.
In 2024, he was detained during a protest in Tel Aviv after making inappropriate comments toward a police officer while livestreaming.
He had also been arrested in Japan the year before for trespassing at a construction site in Osaka, and was fined about $1,000 for causing a disturbance at a restaurant.
As for what will happen afterwards, local media say he’ll likely be deported from South Korea once he finishes his sentence.
