By: David Wang
Last week on Friday, a popular Twitch streamer by the name of Kai Cenat’s Instagram story announced a giveaway at Union Square Park in New York City, New York at 4 PM. The giveaway caused a riot after the thousands of people who came to the event overran the park and surrounding areas. 65 total arrests were made, with 30 of them being made on juveniles. Cenat himself is now facing multiple charges, including “At least two counts of incitement to riot, unlawful assembly and a few other charges,” according to Chief of Police Jeffrey Maddrey.
Along with those charges and arrests, there were plenty of injuries from the unrest going on at the site. 2 police officers and 4 civilians were sent to the hospital in ambulances, proving the severity of their injuries. Another officer left with a broken hand. Many others departed with injuries such as cuts, bruises, and lacerations. There was even a false report of a 17 year old being shot. But the situation was not always so chaotic. It happened after 3 PM, when the news had spread online. By that time, thousands were pouring into Union Square and swarming everywhere. Just an hour and a half earlier, at 1:30pm, there were only around 300 people at the giveaway. So, why the sudden change? Because the items that were being given away were PlayStation 5 consoles, or PS5 consoles. A single PS5 is worth $499.99 US dollars.
During a news conference on Friday, Mr. Maddrey provided some details. After things got hectic, Cenat was removed from the park for “safety reasons.” The event had not been coordinated with the police. And after the people began swarming in, traffic was soon obstructed as people began throwing rocks and various objects at the police once the barriers were torn down. The scene turned into a place of unrest after people began jumping on cars.
What made it seemingly worse was that Kai Cenat had even started a stream during the middle of the event. He flashed a fistful of what he claimed were $100 gift cards, hidden in a CVS brown paper bag. Apparently, he was also going to give those away. A quote he said on stream in a vehicle was “They’re throwing tear gas out there. We’re not going to do nothing until it’s safe. … Everybody for themselves, because it’s a war out there, man.” Seconds after saying that, he proceeded to get out of the car and found himself mobbed by fans, who were repelled by Cenat’s bodyguards soon after that. The stream cut shortly before that. The area outside the vehicle was truly hectic with Police Chief Maddrey stating that much of the crowd threw paint cans, rocks, and bottles or just plain walked around with axes, shovels, and various other tools they got from nearby construction sites. Some people also lit fireworks during the chaos, and one or two police officers had to be removed due to injuries. That was how severe the disorder was getting.
Around 5 PM, the crowd had begun to clear out, with some police on horseback ushering people away. By 6 PM, the police had managed to clear out much of the park, restoring some of the former peace in the surrounding areas and the park as well.