Kai Cenat charged with inciting a riot after thousands show up to NYC giveaway

Kai Cenat has been charged with first-degree rioting, inciting a riot, and unlawful assembly after a fan giveaway in New York City got rowdy.

Thousands of people gathered in Manhattan’s Union Square Park in anticipation of Cenat giving away PlayStation 5s and $100 gift cards. Cenat–who’s been Twitch‘s most-watched streamer this year–was broadcasting as he got out of his car and into the screaming crowd.

The NYPD said Cenat had not gotten a permit to host the event, and that the crowd grew “exponentially” and was “uncontrolled.” Videos from the event show people climbing on cars and buses. Officers arrived in riot gear, and claim there were no shots fired and no flash-bang devices used. One video, though, showed officers grabbing an attendee who was walking away, swinging him around, and pushing him facefirst into the back window of a taxi, which shattered and cut him.

NYPD chief of department Jeffrey Maddrey said several civilians and police were taken to the hospital, including people with broken bones and one person injured by fireworks.

He said officers had arrested 65 people, including 30 juveniles.

Cenat was arrested at the event Friday and released early Saturday morning, per ABC. He was issued a desk appearance ticket, which is a written notice that he must show up to face his charges in court at a future date.

The first-degree rioting charge is a felony; inciting a riot and unlawful assembly are both misdemeanors.

Cenat’s creator collab group, AMP (aka Any Means Possible), released a statement saying he had been hoping to “create a positive experience” for fans, but “we’ve never experienced anything at the scale of what took place.”

“We are deeply disheartened by the outbreak of disorderly conduct that affected innocent people and businesses, and do not condone that behavior,” AMP said. “We apologize to all of those impacted. We are fully cooperating with local authorities.”