Riot unfolds as thousands gather at NYC's Union Square for free giveaway, YouTuber Kai Cenat faces legal charges

Chaotic scene in NYC as thousands gather for free PS5 giveaway. Crowd becomes violent, injuring people and police. Arrests made, including streamer Kai Cenat.

A chaotic scene unfolded in New York City on Friday, when thousands of people gathered at Union Square Park after Twitch streamer Kai Cenat promised to give away free Playstation 5 consoles.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 04: (EDITORS NOTE: Retransmission with alternate crop.) People gather for a "giveaway" event announced by popular Twitch live streamer Kai Cenat in Union Square and the surrounding area on August 4, 2023 in New York City. Cenat, who announced on social media that he would be giving away video game consoles and other items, is reportedly in police custody after a crowd of thousands sparked disorder in the park leading to numerous arrests. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) (Getty Images via AFP)

The crowd became unruly and violent, throwing objects at each other and at the police, who tried to disperse them.

Cenat, is a popular comedian on Twitch and YouTube, who announced on his social media that he would hand out free PS5s to some of his fans at 4 p.m. in Union Square. His post went viral and attracted a huge crowd of people, who blocked the traffic and the subway station near the park.

Kai Cenat has declared few PS5 giveaway at NYC (Twitch)

Cenat posted a photo of the crowd on his Instagram story, showing the massive turnout for his giveaway. However, things quickly got out of hand, as the crowd became aggressive and disorderly. Some people climbed on a gazebo and a statue of George Washington, while others threw paint cans and other items at the police.

Police officers arrest people during riots sparked by Twitch streamer Kai Cenat, who announced a "givaway" event, in New York's Union Square on August 4, 2023. A New York influencer sparked a surprise gathering of around 2,000 young people in Manhattan on Friday afternoon that degenerated into street violence and left a number of people injured, police announced and arrested. It all began on Friday, August 4, with a call, on Instagram, from 21-year-old African-American streamer Kai Cenat to meet him in lower Manhattan for a distribution, broadcast live on social networks, of gifts, including PlayStations 5 game consoles. (Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP) (AFP)

The police said they were assaulted and hit with rocks, bottles, and other debris, as they tried to clear out the park. They also said they arrested several people, but did not give an exact number as of early Friday evening. They also said they took Cenat into custody for safety reasons, and that they would discuss with their legal department about possible charges against him.

“Most of it was within the park. The young people in the park were throwing objects at each other. They were dancing. They were doing a whole lot of stuff but they were hurting each other while doing it,” New York Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at a press conference Friday.

We have encountered things like this before but never to this level of dangerousness where young people would not listen to our commands, they were fighting each other, they were hurting each other and they were turning their attacks on us.

Maddrey said that several people in the crowd and some officers sustained injuries during the incident. He also said that most of the crowd had left the area by 7 p.m., but that some groups were still roaming around Manhattan.

NYPD police chief said the department would work to prevent future occurrences like this.