Popular Twitch streamer and influencer Kai Cenat is facing charges after accidentally starting a riot at Union Square in New York City, New York. Cenat announced that he was going to host a Playstation 5 giveaway to his fans. However, due to zero crowd control, a supposed fan meet turned into a riot that injured 30 people. 

Cenat is required to appear in court 

Prior to the event Cenat believed that a lot of people would show up, but expected just around 500 to show up. It turned out that thousands of people showed. Cenat was streaming on his vehicle to document the event. As he went his way to New York City’s Union Square, he was met with a chaotic shoving crowd. When the streets were flocked with people, and Cenat was not able to control the crowd dispite attempts to calm it down. Things got so out of hand that New York Police Department responded and removed him from the vicinity. After, Cenat was taken into custody.

Footage shows people swinging at car windows and jumping over the vehicles, some were some even seen throwing objects and lighting off fireworks, which caused injuries. This riot resulted in the arrest of 65 individuals, 30 of which are juveniles. Kai Cenat was released Saturday and was issued a desk appearance ticket. He is required to appear in court on August 18 to answer the charges. 

AMP’s response to the riot

Any Means Possible (AMP), the group that represents Kai Cenat, issued a statement on Instagram addressing the issue. Their statement reads, “Yesterday members of AMP hoped to create a positive experience for fans and give back as a show of appreciation for their support.”

AMP added, “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.” The group is cooperating with the authorities on this matter. 

AMP’s announcement on Instagram.

Several streamers also weigh their thoughts on this unfortunate event. Most of them are saying that Kai Cenat and his team should have planned the event more. Despite Cenat’s good intention of hosting a huge giveaway, it resulted in a mob that could have been avoided. This accident is a reminder to content creators to acknowledge their growing influence and be responsible for planning events.

Image courtesy: WNYW Fox 5 and Kai Cenat