Social media star Kai Cenat has been charged with inciting a riot and unlawful assembly following the thousands-strong crowds that gathered in Union Square in New York City for a giveaway, which resulted in hundreds of people being arrested and numerous police officers being hurt.
Cenat announced during a Twitch live on Wednesday that he would be giving a “huge giveaway” on Friday at 4 p.m. in Union Square Park. Cenat has more than 4 million subscribers to his channel on YouTube, more than 5 million to his Instagram account, and 6.5 million on Twitch.
Also Read: Kai Cenat charged with inciting a riot after giveaway causes chaos at Union Square in New York City
He said that they would be handing out PCs, Play Station 5s, microphones, keyboards, cameras, gaming seats, headphones, and gift cards from a truck in Union Square during the webcast. “I feel like New York really deserves it,” he said.
Thousands of people began gathering at the park around 3 p.m., according to NYPD chief Jeffrey Maddrey, who spoke at a news conference on Friday. The park and the nearby streets quickly became congested with people, preventing both pedestrian and vehicle movement, he claimed.
Also Read: What charges does Kai Cenat face following arrest after giveaway riot in NYC
The large crowds prompted the NYPD to activate its highest level of disaster response, “Level 4”. The government had previously declared that a “Level 2” reaction had been undertaken to manage the people and vacate the area.
As the crowd expanded, “individuals in the park began to commit acts of violence towards the police and the public,” according to Maddrey. Some participants, he claimed, took items from a nearby construction site.
Police took Cenat away for “safety reasons,” according to Maddrey. According to him, the Twitch streamer failed to notify the police about the meeting or secure a permit, and it was therefore deemed an illegal assembly.
As police sought to remove the gathering, “quite a few” people were arrested and “a few” police officers were hurt in the commotion, Maddrey said. He said, pointing to dirt on his own uniform, “I was in the middle of the crowd, I was hit with multiple objects.”
