A Twitch streamer is facing legal trouble after his New York City giveaway event derailed into chaos.

Kai Cenat, who promised to gift video game consoles and other electronic devices to fans, was taken into police custody on Aug. 4 after a massive crowd formed in Manhattan's Union Square and pandemonium broke out, according to NBC News. The event attracted a "couple thousand people," police told NBC New York.

The New York Police Department said in a press conference that Cenat will be charged with incitement of a riot and unlawful assembly. In total, police said 65 people were arrested, including 30 juveniles.

According to the authorities, no one was shot, but several officers were injured.

E! News has reached out to Cenat's rep for comment on the incident but hasn't heard back.

Cenat, 21, announced the giveaway on Aug. 2 on his Twitch social media page, where he has over six million followers. In the clip, which has amassed over two million views, Cenat said that he and a group of friends would drive to the park "in a big ass truck" to distribute PlayStation 5, PCs, headphones and more.

On the day of the event, Cenat filmed himself in a vehicle heading toward Union Square, holding up a stack of gift cards to the camera. However, upon peeking outside the car's windows and being told of the gathering crowd in the area, the influencer issued a warning to those watching on Twitch.

"I'm telling you, it's a lot of y'all out there right now," he said. "Everybody who is out there, make sure y'all are safe…We're gonna make sure this is safe. We not gonna do nothing until it's safe. We gotta make sure it's safe, everybody's good."

As he pulled up closer to the park, Cenat told followers to look out for themselves.

"I know y'all here with me, but what goes on from here on out, everybody for themselves," he said. "It's a war out there, man."

The camera filmed Cenat being pushed along the flow of the crowd, before the video eventually went blurry and offline. Once the video feed picked up back again, Cenat could be heard yelling to the crowd, "Be quiet. Hold on. Let's go over there. Y'all gotta make some space," before the video went dark again.

The NYPD said the giveaway was not coordinated with authorities, and that people sustained injuries due to the crowd. Police said a city bus full of people were arrested from the event.

This article was updated on Aug. 4, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. PT after an additional police press conference listed intended charges.

Source:
courtesy of E!ONLINE

by ANGIE ORELLANA HERNANDEZ

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