Twitch and YouTube influencer, Kai Cenat, was taken into custody on Friday after his video game console giveaway drew both crowds and police to Manhattan’s Union Square following an ensuing chaos.

Jeffrey Maddrey, the NYPD chief of department, stated that possible criminal charges may be brought forward such as inciting a riot, as officers struggled to control the crowd.

TV news footage demonstrated a tightly packed crowd climbing on vehicles, and throwing chairs in Union Square Park, while traffic was blocked on several streets.

Part of the chaos included teenagers throwing objects at cars, setting off fire extinguishers, and climbing on buses. Officers later in the evening were able to regain control of most of the area but small skirmishes still remained with people knocking over barricades and throwing bottles at officers. 

Maddrey added that some arrests were made as well, even stating that a bus filled with people was attacked and police were sent to protect it. 

Mayhem broke out when Twitch streamer @KaiCenat held a giveaway in Union Square today #whatisnewyork pic.twitter.com/vOlVJd6okM

— WhatIsNewYork (@whatisny) August 4, 2023

This came after Cenat posted an image on his Instagram page promoting a giveaway at 4 pm on Friday in the park. 

According to Skylark Jones and a friend, they came expecting gaming consoles or even a gaming chair as part of the giveaway, and a chance to see the livestreamer. “It was a movie,” Jones said, adding that police “came with riot shields, charging at people”.

Cenat is a 21-year-old video creator with 6.5 million followers on Twitch and 4 million subscribers on YouTube, where he posts videos about life and comedy. His video titles include Fake Hibachi Chef Prank! and I Rented Us Girlfriends In Japan!

Back in December, he won streamer of the year at the 12th annual Streamy Awards.

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Cenat live-streamed in a car on the day of the giveaway and displayed gift cards he planned to give away. However, upon realizing the crowd and police, he said: “Everybody who’s out there, make sure y’all safe ... We’re not gonna do nothin’ until it’s safe.”

He and his entourage eventually did get out of the vehicle and walked towards the crowd in the park. 

Maddrey continued in his statement that the influencer was later removed from the crowd “for his safety” and remained in police contact. Social media videos show him being lifted over a fence and put in a police car.

“We have encountered things like this before, but never to this level of dangerousness,” said Maddrey.