By: Andy Dong

The event was supposed to be a peaceful item giveaway. It turned into a mass riot with people hitting, throwing items, and wielding weapons.

Twitch streamer Kai Cenat announced on Instagram that a giveaway was going to happen on August 4th, at 4 pm. After the news got around, thousands of people gathered in Union Square in New York City. Quickly things got violent and out of hand.

The number of people who showed up was crazy. Jeffrey Maddrey, the New York Police Department’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, said at a news conference on Friday that the number of attendees was “something we would expect for a social media event like this.”

Soon, a scene of unrest started to unfold . People forced down barriers and were throwing things at the crowd. The police had to remove Cenat from the park for fear that he was going to be hurt.

Maddrey said that Cenat was going to be charged with incitement to riot and unlawful assembly. He also noted that there were also other charges too. Cenat is scheduled to show up to court on August 16th.

Police had 65 people arrested, and some people, including police officers, had to be taken to the hospital. Maddrey foretold that the number of injured people and officers was going to keep going up. “I personally saw other people leaving here with their heads split open, you know, cuts, bruises, lacerations,” he said.

Cenat’s streaming history was very successful but also included some bumps. He has over 300,000 paying viewers and his fame rocketed up early in his career. However, Twitch has banned him multiple times due to explicit imagery, threats, and streaming while under the influence.

In a truck at the Square, Cenat hosted a quick stream where he held a bag claiming it was full of $100 gift cards.

“They’re throwing tear gas out there,” Cenat said in a Twitch stream while the chaos was unfolding. “We’re not going to do nothing until it’s safe. … Everybody for themselves, because it’s a war out there, man.”

Afterward, Cenat was swarmed by fans as he got out and the stream stopped shortly.

By 5 pm, police were starting to disperse the crowd. By 6, the crowd was mainly gone.

Sources: Twitch streamer Kai Cenat faces charges after Union Square giveaway chaos

“My first court date is on…”: Kai Cenat gives an update about charges being brought against him by the NYPD