Twitch Streamer Giveaway Causes Violent Mob Scene in New York’s Union Square, Cops Say

UPDATED: A crowd of several thousand people — lured by the promise of free PlayStation 5s by a popular Twitch streamer — descended on Union Square Park in New York City on Friday afternoon, and became violent and uncontrollable, according to police.

The Twitch influencer, Kai Cenat, along with a streamer known as Fanum had encouraged their followers to come to Union Square at 4 p.m. in social media posts about giving away multiple Sony PlayStation 5 game consoles.

By 3 p.m., Cenat’s post went viral and the park was overrun with people well before Cenat was scheduled to arrive, NYPD officials said at a news conference Friday. The crowd began attacking police and members of the public — throwing rocks, bottles, paint cans and other debris and lighting fireworks and aiming them at officers and others, according to police. The NYPD arrested 65 people, including 30 juveniles. Police said they removed Cenat from the area for his own safety after the crowd grew violent and that he remained in custody Friday evening.

“People were suffering out here — it was uncontrolled — and a lot of young people got hurt,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeff Maddrey said at the news conference. “You had people walking around with shovels, axes and other tools of the construction trade.”

“This speaks to the power of social media and the danger of social media,” Chief Maddrey told reporters.

The NYPD later said Cenat was charged with riot, inciting a riot and unlawful assembly. Three police officers were injured during the melee, including a sergeant who suffered a broken hand, officials said.

During the unrest, New York subway trains bypassed the 14th Street-Union Square station. Police said they had largely dispersed the crowds by 6 p.m. but were continuing to clear scattered gatherings throughout Manhattan.

Cenat is the most-subscribed streamer on Twitch, with more than 100,000 paying subscribers, according to TwitchTracker. In addition, he has more than 3.6 million subscribers on his YouTube live channel. Cenat is repped by UTA. Reps for Cenat did not respond to a request for comment.

Pictured above: Members of the NYPD respond to disruptions caused by large crowds during a giveaway event promoted by Twitch livestreamer Kai Cenat in Union Square on Aug. 4, 2023.