Social media influencer and prominent Twitch streamer Kai Cenat will now face charges for inciting a riot and promoting an unlawful gathering in New York City. He was released from police custody early on Saturday morning US time.
The streamer, who has six million followers on his Instagram and another 6.5 on his Twitch, announced he would be giving away freebies in Union Square.
He is currently the second most-subscribed creator on the platform according to TwitchTracker.
“I feel like New York really deserves it,” he announced on his stream, advertising the distribution of computers, PlayStation 5s, microphones, keyboards, webcams, gaming chairs, headphones and gift cards per CNN.
The event ended with over 60 people getting arrested, several police officers injured and a bunch of things thrown including paint, bottles and stones per the BBC.
“We went from 300 kids to a couple of thousands of kids in minutes,” NYPD chief Jeffrey Maddrey said in a press conference.
“You had people walking around with shovels, axes, and other tools from the construction,” he continued.
“Individuals were also lighting fireworks, throwing them towards the police, they were throwing them towards each other.”
A “level four” response was declared by the police. This meant approximately 1,000 officers were sent to the scene.
In a video posted to the Kai Cenat Live YouTube channel, Cenat and his entourage can be seen discussing how many people have rocked up to the event.
“We’re gonna make sure this shit is safe,” he said.
“We’re not gon do nothing until it’s safe.”
The crew then exits the vehicle and is immediately swarmed by fans.
The only response to the events thus far has been an Instagram story to the @AMPexclusive account, a social media group of which Cenat is a member.
Cenat is not directly named in the statement.
“Yesterday members of AMP hoped to create a positive experience for fans and give back as a show of appreciation for their support,” the Story began.
“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 yesterday.
“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.
“We apologize to all of those impacted, and we are fully cooperating with local authorities.”
More to come.
In the meantime, if you’re craving some more influencer fuck-ups, peep our all-time list here.
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