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Twitch streamer issued desk appearance ticket after giveaway devolves into massive NYC riot

August 5, 2023 | | Print Article

A social media influencer has been was supposed to be charged with inciting a riot after New York City’s Union Square was overrun by a mob of violent teenagers gathered for a PlayStation giveaway on Friday. However, he was allowed to walk with just a desk appearance ticket and it’s currently unknown whether he will still face those charges.

At least 1,000 children and teenagers flooded into Union Square after Twitch influencer Kai Cenat announced that there would be a PlayStation giveaway at Union Square Park. Police became aware of the post at around 12:30 or 12:45 p.m. and by 1:30 p.m., approximately 300 youths had reportedly gathered.

That number quickly grew.

“This event grew exponentially. Rapidly. Fast,” said NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey during a press conference. “And, again, this is the power of social media. There were thousands of young people here at this event.”

“This wasn’t a permitted event,” he continued. “It wasn’t a sanctioned event.”

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(Video: YouTube)

As the crowd grew, so did the police response, the chief explained, stressing that NYPD was acutely aware of the fact that they were dealing with unruly children.

“This is one of the first things we recognized — the leadership, when we all got together — that this is a group of young people and we had to be very, very delicate in how we handled this,” Maddrey said. “We wanted the kids to just comply with us and leave, but we were met with a lot of resistance. We were attacked.”


Police vehicles were destroyed, outdoor diners threw their plates at the officers, “m-80s and heavy-duty explosives” were “thrown around a crowd of thousands of people,” he said, calling the event a “very dangerous and chaotic situation.”

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“We did have members that sustained some injuries out here at this time,” Maddrey said at an earlier press conference. “We were crushed. We were pushed. I had officers on the floor.”

“As you see, I’m a little embarrassed because I’m very dirty right here. But I was in the middle of the crowd,” he told reporters. “I was hit with multiple objects as well. I think I have a couple of injuries, but I’ll figure that out once I have time to think about it.”

Cenat was removed from the crowd by NYPD officers and arrested.

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According to Maddrey, the influencer would be charged with “multiple counts,” including inciting a riot and unlawful assembly.

In the end, 65 arrests were made, including 30 juveniles.

“I personally observed young people walking… bleeding from their heads,” Maddrey said. “We have encountered things like this before, but never to this level of dangerous, this where young people would not listen to our commands.”

By Friday night, Cenat, who has more than 20 million followers, was back on the streets after receiving a desk appearance ticket, the New York Post reports.

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At the later press conference, Chief Maddrey commended the NYPD officers for their restraint and called on parents to help prevent a repeat of the afternoon’s mayhem.

“We can’t let this happen here,” he said. “We can’t let this happen with our young people, so again, I have to implore the parents, I have to implore the parents that we need your help with this.”

Melissa Fine
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