Kick streamer Johnny Somali denied some of the charges against him in Japanese court after making his first trial appearance.
Infamous streamer Johnny Somali made international headlines with controversial Kick broadcasts from Japan, where he’d harass locals and even confront other streamers.
His antics finally caught up with him in September when Somali was arrested for allegedly trespassing on a construction site and was even arrested again for disrupting a restaurant by entering the kitchen and playing loud music.
On December 19, Somali appeared in court, but disputed some of the charges for forcible obstruction of business.
Johnny Somali appears in Japanese court over Kick streams
In Osaka District Court, Somali claimed that while he was filming in the restaurant, the audio “came out automatically” when a viewer reacted to the stream and he wasn’t in control.
According to Yahoo, in addition to the music, Somali had also made remarks about wanting to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki – comments that are common during his broadcasts.
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However, as Sankei News reports, the prosecution wasn’t buying it and argued that Somali was “acting arbitrarily because he wanted to please the viewers.”
Somali, who had been in custody since his second arrest, requested leniency.
“It was an embarrassing act that inconvenienced employees and customers,” he said. “I swear that I will never record or distribute any kind of video in the future.”
Johnny Somali told the court that the loud music that disrupted a restaurant played automatically. In reality, he did not stop viewers of his stream from playing offensive sounds/music on his speakers because he earned money every time it happened. pic.twitter.com/Rrd4yncywx
— Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 (@mrjeffu) December 19, 2023
The prosecution asked for a 200K yen fine, around $1,400 USD, for his actions, and the case was concluded. Charges for allegedly trespassing on a construction site were dropped.
Johnny Somali also expressed a desire to return to Japan in the future, but so far, it’s not known if he will be allowed back in the country. The verdict is expected to be handed down on January 10, 2024.
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