Current:Home > FinanceTwitch Streamer Kai Cenat Taken Into Police Custody at Massive New York Giveaway Event -Secure Horizon Growth
Twitch Streamer Kai Cenat Taken Into Police Custody at Massive New York Giveaway Event
View
Date:2025-04-15 22:02:43
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.
Cenat has not been charged for the incident.
However, the New York Police Department said in a press conference that, depending on its legal department's guidance, Cenat could be charged with inciting a riot. E! News has reached out to Cenat's rep for comment 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.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (78421)
Related
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Climate Change Enables the Spread of a Dangerous Flesh-Eating Bacteria in US Coastal Waters, Study Says
- Coast Guard searching for Carnival cruise ship passenger who went overboard
- Clean Beauty 101: All of Your Burning Questions Answered by Experts
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Pacific Walruses Fight to Survive in the Rapidly Warming Arctic
- Raven-Symoné and Wife Miranda Pearman-Maday Set the Record Straight on That Relationship NDA
- Banks Say They’re Acting on Climate, But Continue to Finance Fossil Fuel Expansion
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Increasingly Large and Intense Wildfires Hinder Western Forests’ Ability to Regenerate
Ranking
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Frustrated by Outdated Grids, Consumers Are Lobbying for Control of Their Electricity
- Kylie Jenner Debuts New Photos of “Big Boy” Aire Webster That Will Have You on Cloud 9
- Clean Energy Is Thriving in Texas. So Why Are State Republicans Trying to Stifle It?
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- ‘Green Steel’ Would Curb Carbon Emissions, Spur Economic Revival in Southwest Pennsylvania, Study Says
- Frustrated by Outdated Grids, Consumers Are Lobbying for Control of Their Electricity
- Confronting California’s Water Crisis
Recommendation
McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
New Study Bolsters Case for Pennsylvania to Join Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
A Guardian of Federal Lands, Lambasted by Left and Right
The Truth About Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan's Inspiring Love Story
'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
Some will starve, many may die, U.N. warns after Russia pulls out of grain deal
Western Firms Certified as Socially Responsible Trade in Myanmar Teak Linked to the Military Regime
Scientists Examine Dangerous Global Warming ‘Accelerators’