The raw footage was missing Reason's voice-over explaining who the man was, or what the incident was about, and internet speculation attempted to resolve the mystery. Theories about the man's identity centered on Paul Charles Dozsa, a Hungarian chess player and notorious dine and dasher, [7] [8] [9] [10] but there were also serious doubts about this theory. Observers asked why the arrest was filmed from so many angles, why it was filmed at all and why the allegedly-Hungarian man did not sound Hungarian. Friends, family and acquaintances of Dozsa also stated that the man in the video was not Dozsa. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] Other theories included that the man was politician John Bartlett, the video was a skit from an unidentified television show, or that the man was a real dine and dasher named Gregory John Ziegler. [16] The Brisbane police who arrested him that day didn't know that Karlson had been a criminal and a serial prison escapee. He was also a part-time actor. There was no fight getting him out of the car. Nothing. It was all put on for the cameras." The drama behind the rant The video of the rant has become so popular that a Google search for the phrase "succulent Chinese meal" now yields 10,000 more results than "delicious Chinese meal".

He welcomed Karlson into his cell. The two men bonded over making foul-tasting alcohol in the cell's washbasin from raisins and yeast, and shared histories. Mac Miller (30 December 2015). "Run On Sentences, Volume Two". 2:48 . Retrieved 9 April 2021– via SoundCloud. Tyler Jenke (16 June 2019). "A succulent Australian mystery: Just who is the bloke in this iconic video?". The Brag . Retrieved 19 March 2020.Sentenced to eight years in Parramatta Gaol, Karlson was put in an unusually large cell with an inmate named Jim McNeil.

Leedham, Nicole (4 May 1995). "Thief served up his just deserts". The Canberra Times. p.1 . Retrieved 23 March 2020. a b c d Drevikovsky, Janek (8 March 2020). " 'This is democracy manifest': Mystery star of viral video found at last". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 19 March 2020. The Radio National program Earshot broadcast an hour-long biographical documentary on the incident in January 2022. [21] In June 2022, academic Dean Biron, who was one of the arresting officers accused in the "Get your hands off my penis" part of the video, wrote an article about the incident. Biron gave his version of events, such as why the police were making the arrest, stating that, contrary to other reports made, it was not considered a major case. Biron said that after the arrest, the man - who had used the Edwards alias - was held in police custody and then released on bail overnight, and disappeared until his " 15 minutes of fame" in 2020, "somehow scrubbed clean of that pesky past". [3] Taylor, Belle (28 July 2023). "The wild true story of the prison escapee who just wanted a succulent Chinese meal". PerthNow . Retrieved 4 August 2023. Stewart Perrie (12 April 2019). "Aussies All Made The Same Joke After Julian Assange Was Booted From Ecuadorian Embassy". Lad Bible . Retrieved 28 February 2020.

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In 2023, true crime author Mark Dapin published a biography of Karlson titled Carnage: A Succulent Chinese Meal, Mr. Rent-a-Kill and the Australian Manson Murders. He interviewed Karlson and followed leads to other crimes and criminals. [20] [22] [23] Influences [ edit ] Dapin, Mark (2023). Carnage: A Succulent Chinese Meal, Mr. Rent-a-Kill and the Australian Manson Murders. Simon & Schuster Australia. ISBN 978-1761108099. a b Butler, Josh (5 March 2020). "The 'Democracy Manifest' Meme Guy May Not Be Dead, According To The Chats". 10 Daily. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020 . Retrieved 22 March 2020.

Wenger, Charles (8 November 2019). "The Succulent Enigma of Paul Dozsa". Level Up Chess . Retrieved 20 March 2020. Since being uploaded to YouTube in 2009, the video has become a viral hit in Australian culture. [5] When Australian activist Julian Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2019, comparisons were made between both respective arrests and "it didn't take long for Aussies to all make the same joke". [24] Surrounded by police, the man is amazed at being arrested, exclaiming: "Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest!" Neither man had set foot in a theatre, but McNeil's plays were already being performed across Australia. He felt that, with the success of his plays, he'd never need to resort to crime again. On radio and in the press, he would give didactic rants about the brutality of the justice system.

Both had discovered talents they didn't know they had. McNeil kept writing on his smuggled typewriter, and Karlson kept acting. The plays became a hit among young Sydney intellectuals, many who had been campaigning for prisoners' rights. Karlson and McNeil's friendship continued outside the prison gates and they moved into a house in Richmond together. a b " "This is democracy manifest!" - 7NEWS meets the man behind the "succulent Chinese meal" meme". YouTube. 23 May 2021 . Retrieved 7 July 2021. Perrie, Stewart (5 March 2020). "Aussie Band The Chats Team Up With The 'Democracy Manifest' Bloke For New Music Video". LAD Bible . Retrieved 20 March 2020.