Popular Twitch streamer and YouTuber Kai Cenat has been charged with inciting a riot and unlawful assembly after he advertised a “HUGE GIVEAWAY” in the city’s Union Square that descended into mayhem on Friday afternoon, with a crowd of thousands turning unruly.
Cenat was released from police custody early Saturday and is set to appear in court on Aug. 18, the Associated Press reported.
Reps for the star on Saturday offered apologies for the sheer chaos that ensued after he promised to give fans free PS5 game consoles.
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“Yesterday members of AMP hoped to create a positive experience for fans and give back as a show of appreciation for their support. We’ve hosted fan meet ups and video shoots in the past, but we’ve never experienced anything at the scale of what took place,” reps for Cenat told The Daily Beast in a statement Saturday. “We recognize that our audience and influence are growing, and with that comes greater responsibility.”
“We are deeply disheartened by the outbreak of disorderly conduct that affected innocent people and businesses, and do not condone that behavior,” his reps added. “We apologize to all of those impacted. We are fully cooperating with local authorities.”
As the event spiraled out of control Friday, officers initially evacuated Cenat for “safety reasons” and questioned him at a precinct, New York Police Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at a press conference.
The NYPD also arrested 65 people, including 30 juveniles, according to Maddrey. He said several people in the crowd were injured in addition to at least three cops.
“Listen, we’re not against young people having a good time, we’re not against young people gathering,” Maddrey told reporters Friday. “But it can’t be to this level where it’s dangerous. A lot of people got hurt today.”
Videos from the scene showed thousands of people shoving each other, tearing down barricades, jumping on cars, and throwing objects, including at police officers. Others were spotted arming themselves with materials from a nearby construction site, including saws and white paint, ABC 7 reported.
Maddrey detailed much of the same, saying officers were bleeding from their heads and were assaulted by the rioters, who largely dispersed by 6 p.m. The NYPD was forced to call in roughly 1,000 officers to get the crowd under control, and others were dispatched to track groups of people who walked elsewhere in Manhattan.
Adding to the madness, fireworks erupted regularly among the crowd—clearly frightening those who mistook the blasts for gunshots.
“Our officers exercised great strength despite the aggression that they were met with and the acts of violence they were met with,” Maddrey added in an afternoon press conference.
Reporters on the ground said that police had filled buses with people under arrest, and a New York Police Department spokesperson confirmed to NBC 4 that “numerous” individuals in the crowd had been detained.
The chaos broke out around 3:30 p.m. and it’s unclear how many freebies, if any, were distributed before the crowd became rowdy.
An hour later, numerous news helicopters circled above Manhattan, capturing the chaos and live streaming it online and over the air. The number of rioters, reported to be mostly teens and young adults, continued to grow into the thousands, Maddrey said.
Cenat has more than 4 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, 5.5 million followers on Instagram, and 6.5 million followers on Twitch. His giveaway promised all sorts of freebies, including game consoles, games and gift cards.
While the giveaway was scheduled for 4 p.m., hundreds had already flooded Union Square by 3 p.m.
“This speaks to the power of social media and the dangers of social media,” Maddrey said.
Kai Cenat pictured accepting the “Streamer of the Year” award at the 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards.
Emma McIntyre/Getty
