Riot at NYC influencer giveaway event

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Police are urging people to avoid Manhattan's Union Square as they try to contain the fallout from a reported game console giveaway event.

A crowd of several hundred people filled the park Friday afternoon for what was billed as an event from popular Twitch streamer and YouTube creator Kai Cenat. The "HUGE GIVEAWAY," which promised free PlayStation consoles and gift cards, was scheduled for 4 p.m., but hundreds had already filled the square by 3 p.m.

What exactly sparked the crowd to turn unruly isn't yet clear, but by 3:30 p.m. people were seen throwing garbage at police and taking down barriers around the perimeter. Witnesses reported seeing some people throwing chairs and bottles. One young person had a bruise on his face and he said he was pushed to the ground.

The NYPD estimates a "couple thousand people" were in Union Square around 4 p.m., prompting the highest level of police mobilization. According to a spokesperson, the department called on an estimated one thousands officers to respond to the escalating situation.

Cenat was eventually pulled out from the massive crowd by police officers and placed into custody. A spokesperson confirmed police arrested the influencer and "numerous" other people in the crowd.

The chaos was far from contained to just the plaza. The size of the crowd extended into multiple streets, blocking E 14th Street and Broadway directly south of Union Square.

A number of cars attempting to pass by were swarmed by the overwhelming size of the crowd and forced to a halt. Chopper video shows a handful of people in the crowd climbing on top of some of those cars as well as a food cart nearby.

Despite the pandemonium, police have said there were no reports of any significant injuries in the first hour of the event fallout.

Who is Kai Cenat?

Kai Cenat, who police said organized the giveaway that led to the chaotic scene, is a Twitch streamer and YouTuber who has been making online content since 2018, when he was still in high school. He is known for having a large fanbase, and in Feb. 2023, became the most-subscribed Twitch streamer of all time, with more than 100,000 subscribers.

He’s won awards for his content, which includes videos of him doing various challenges, online pranks and more. In addition to those videos, he gained following for videos where he chatted with viewers on his Twitch channel, which he started in 2021.

Social media influencer Kai Cenat has been charged with inciting a riot and unlawful assembly after thousands-strong crowds gathered in Union Square in New York City for a giveaway, leaving dozens of people arrested and several police officers injured.

Cenat, who has over 4 million followers on YouTube, over 5 million on Instagram, and 6.5 million on Twitch, said during a Wednesday Twitch stream that he would be hosting a “huge giveaway” Friday at 4 p.m. in Union Square Park.

In the stream, he said they would be giving away computers, Play Station 5s, microphones, keyboards, webcams, gaming chairs, headphones and giftcards from a truck in Union Square. “I feel like New York really deserves it,” he said.

People began gathering at the park around 3 p.m., NYPD chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at one of two Friday news conferences. “Soon the park and the surrounding streets were overrun with people, obstructing vehicular and pedestrian traffic,” he said.

“We went from 300 kids to a couple of thousands of kids in minutes,” he said at the second briefing.

The crowds spurred the NYPD to activate a “Level 4” response, its highest level of disaster response. The department earlier announced that they had activated a “Level 2” response to handle the crowds and clear the area.

Maddrey said that as the crowd grew, “individuals in the park began to commit acts of violence towards the police and the public.” He said that some attendees took items from a nearby construction site.

“You had people walking around with shovels, axes, and other tools from the construction,” he said. “Individuals were also lighting fireworks, throwing them towards the police, they were throwing them towards each other.”

Cenat was removed by police for “safety reasons,” according to Maddrey. He said the Twitch streamer had not alerted the police to the gathering or obtained a permit, and it was declared an unlawful assembly.

Several police officers were injured in the frenzy and “quite a few” people were arrested as police worked to clear the crowd, Maddrey said. He gestured at dirt on his own uniform, saying, “I was in the middle of the crowd, I was hit with multiple objects.”

Police arrested 65 people, including 30 juveniles, Maddrey said at a Friday night news conference. He noted that he saw young people injured in the crowd as well as police officers.

Cenat has been charged with two counts of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly, among other charges, the chief said.

“We’re not against young people having a good time, we’re not against young people gathering,” Maddrey said. “But it can’t be to this level where it’s dangerous. A lot of people got hurt today.”

He said that while the crowd had dispersed from the park, police were still monitoring “crowds mulling around Manhattan.