NEW YORK.- The popular influencers Kai Cenat, responsible for summoning a crowd in a New York square with the promise of giving away video game consoles at an event that ended in a pitched fight on Friday -August 4-, was accused yesterday of inciting a riot, reported the police today, August 6.
The news of the delivery of PlayStation 5 video consoles went viral and thousands of young people flocked to Union Square in Manhattan. Some started throwing bottles and debris at the police, kicking and dancing on cars.
It is estimated that some 1,000 police officers had to be deployed to control the events, which caused some injuries.
A New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson told AFP that 21-year-old Kai Cenat had been charged with inciting a riot and unlawful assembly; that four other people had also been charged with serious crimes.
A Bronx resident, Kai Cenat is very popular online, with 6.5 million followers on the video game streaming site Twitch and 4 million subscribers on Youtube.
The riots on Friday began with a post on Instagram, in which the influencers he was asking his followers to join him for the event, which would be broadcast live.
Up to 5,000 young people, according to various media, quickly gathered in the square and in the surrounding streets, but later the meeting turned into confrontations.
As the streets filled, attendants began throwing objects from a nearby building at the crowd and police, who quickly fanned out in large numbers.
Television footage and press photos showed youths surrounding and blocking vehicles, while others kicked and smashed some of the cars.
“People were bleeding from the head, from the face … they were suffering,” New York Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at a news conference after bringing the chaos under control.
“There were a lot of people, it was out of control… many young people were injured,” he said.
FOUNTAIN: AFP
