A social media influencer is suspected of inciting a riot after allegedly losing control of a giveaway in New York City’s Union Square on Friday.
Twitch video game streamer Kai Cenat was in custody after the incident and is likely facing two counts of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly, New York City Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said in a press conference posted toFacebook.
Cenat has 6.5 million followers, according to his Twitch profile.
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The post went viral, Maddrey said. According toCNN, Cenat during a Wednesday Twitch stream said he would be hosting a “huge giveaway” Friday at 4 p.m. in Union Square Park. Cenat said he would be giving away computers, Play Station 5s, microphones, keyboards, webcams, gaming chairs, headphones, and gift cards.
“It was about 300 people around 1:30, not a big crowd, something we would expect for a social media event like this,” Maddrey said. “But this event grew exponentially, rapidly, fast, and again this is the power of social media. There were thousands of young people here at this event. This wasn’t a permitted event. It wasn’t a sanctioned event.”
Maddrey said the crowd became violent and allegedly broke into a construction site and used its materials as weapons.
“We were attacked,” Maddrey said. “Young people destroyed our vehicles. My car is destroyed. They destroyed food carts. They destroyed stores.”
According toNBC News, Cenat broke the record for most active subscribers on Twitch in March after streaming uninterrupted for 30 days. He has also been temporarily banned from Twitch on five occasions.
source: people.com
