Move FM Global News

NEW YORK CITY, New York: After announcing a giveaway of video game consoles that drew thousands of people to New York City on August 4 and sparked violent clashes with police, social media influencer Kai Cenat has been charged with inciting a riot.

During a news conference, Jeffrey Maddrey, the New York Police Department’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, said, “Sixty-five people were arrested, including 30 juveniles, and several police officers and civilians were injured in the melee at Union Square Park.”

Best known for his live streams on the gaming site Twitch and YouTube videos, Cenat was also charged with unlawful assembly, Maddrey added, noting that the crowd started to calm down when police officers removed Cenat from the park.

In a video posted August 3, 21-year-old Cenat told his followers that the giveaway would include computers and Playstation 5 consoles.

Cenat, who has 6.5 million followers on Twitch and 4 million subscribers on YouTube, was named “Streamer of the Year” in 2022 at the Streamy Awards.