Kai Cenat to face charges over giveaway mayhem in New York City, chief says

There was chaos around Kai Cenat, a celebrity Twitch live streamer and YouTuber, when he met with fans to give away Sony PlayStation 5 consoles and other electronics on Friday afternoon at New York City’s Union Square.

During a live stream, Cenat, 21, promised his fans to give away free headphones, microphones, keyboards, gift cards, and more gamer goodies at 4 p.m. because “New York really deserves it.”

Prosecutors have yet to charge him, but New York Police Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said on Friday night Cenat was facing charges of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly.

Thousands of his more than 6.5 million Twitch followers responded. At least six were injured, four were at the Beth Israel Medical Center and two were at the Lennox Hill Healthplex, according to the New York City Fire Department.

New York Police Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said fireworks injured one of the victims, but at first police officers thought there was a shooting.

“People were suffering out here,” Maddrey said. “It was a lot of people; it was uncontrolled. It took us a while to get it under control, and a lot of young people got hurt.”

Maddery said there were about 300 people at 1:30 p.m. He said the crowd grew to about 2,000 and he saw people bleeding, having panic attacks, and asthma attacks.

Lines of police officers in riot gear secured a perimeter around the already crowded Union Square, as more fans grew frustrated trying to get there. There were parents who responded to try to get their kids.

Social media photos and videos show fans using their phones to record police officers and some were pleading for police officers to let them through so they could get to Union Square for the event.

“This speaks to the power of social media and the dangers of social media,” Maddery said adding, “We can’t allow this to happen again in the future.”

Maddery said a few police officers were also injured, as they were met with a lot of resistance from the fans. Police officers arrested 65 people, including 30 minors, according to Maddery.

There was a fistfight. Some fans even decided to damage police cars, a food truck, and other property, police said.

“Individuals at the park began to commit acts of violence against the police and the public,” Maddery said.

Some broke into a nearby construction site and used paint cans, and other items as weapons, police said. Students climbed on cars, buses, and the park’s statue.

“Our officers were attacked,” Maddrey said.

Cenat’s video stream of the event shows he greeted fans and walked through the crowd without engaging in violence or encouraging it.

Police officers eventually decided to remove Cenat from the event and detained him.

“We will discuss with our legal department about inciting a riot and other charges,” Maddrey said about the possibility of Cenat’s arrest.

The Associated Press reported police officers used tear gas at the park. Maddery said there were so many arrests they had to use a bus and some targeted the bus.

Maddery said he saw many others who had suffered cuts and lacerations leave the area without getting medical attention.

“I was in the middle of the crowd; I was hit with multiple objects,” Maddery said later adding his leg was hurting.

Skylark Jones, 19, told The Associated Press that police officers “came with riot shields, charging at people.” Carina Treile, manager of Petite Optique, an eyeglass shop, told AP she felt scared when “people started running.”

It was unclear if the giveaway even happened.

“Everybody who’s out there, make sure you are all safe,” Cenat said during his livestream “We are not going to do nothing until it’s safe.”

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Local 10 News partners ABC News, The Associated Press, and CNN contributed to this report.

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