Twitch Star Kai Cenat Faces A Felony Charge After Teens Riot & Loot During His Giveaway + Police Suspect “Outside Agitators” Maybe Have “Aggravated” The Event

Kai Cenat

Twitch Star Kai Cenat Faces A Felony Charge After Teens Riot & Loot During His Giveaway + Police Suspect “Outside Agitators” Maybe Have “Aggravated” The Event

Popular internet personality Kai Cenat is facing some legal implications.

After drawing thousands of people with a giveaway, unintentionally causing a riot, the Twitch star is reportedly being charged with a felony and two misdemeanors.

Kai Cenat

News of the mayhem taking place at Manhattan’s Union Square Park spread quickly this past Friday as chaos ensued on the streets. The event began as a simple giveaway hosted by content creator Kai Cenat III, 21, and fellow internet star Fenum. Reportedly, the two told their millions of followers to arrive at the location at 4pm to have the chance to win free Playstation 5 consoles. However, things soured quickly as the crowd continued to grow larger, even as the event time passed.

Kai Cenat just shut down New York City pic.twitter.com/Z8vmYh4GZE

— Taco (@ThatDudeTaco) August 4, 2023

According to police, after 3pm the crowd of mostly teenagers grew “exponentially” and quickly spilled out of the park and onto nearby streets, blocking traffic and pedestrians traveling. While it’s noted that most in the crowd were “peaceful”, a handful of individuals reportedly began agitating the situation. Police report that attendees began throwing rocks, bottles, and building materials at others in the crowd. Some even went as far as setting off fireworks. Others began to engage in serious property damage, climbing, hurling objects at, and smashing the windows of nearby vehicles. One video clip shows a street vendor who was reportedly hit and stolen from while passerby’s attempted to shield him from the unruly crowd.

Video surfaces on TikTok showing fans at the Kai Cenat giveaway defending a 60 year old man and attempting to stop others from robbing his newsstand pic.twitter.com/IlR2P5STcB

— Dexertonox (@Dexertonox) August 6, 2023

As police began to try to quell the crowd, some reportedly pushed back in resistance. Authorities say they detained around 65 individuals as a result of the riot – nearly half being juveniles – including Cenat. The Youtuber was reportedly released shortly after being booked and given a court date, and was charged with first-degree rioting, a felony, as well as inciting a riot and unlawful assembly, both misdemeanors. According to one report, the city’s Mayor Eric Adams shared that there is possibility that “outside agitators” attempted “to aggravate the situation”, but police are still investigating. Much of the blame still falls on Cenat, however, as police say he did not obtain the necessary permits to host such a large gathering.

While the influencer has been quiet since his arrest, he did post some behind the scenes footage leading up to the event to his YouTube channel. The video, titled “Kai Cenat Shuts Down New York City” was uploaded the Saturday after the event and now was 1.6 million views on the streamers page. It does not seem that Cenat has responded to his charges publicly at this time.

[VIA]