Authorities charged online influencer Kai Cenat with inciting a riot, unlawful assembly and more after thousands of people overran a park and its surrounding area in New York City in response to a giveaway of PlayStation 5 consoles, police said — leading to injuries and dozens of arrests. A post to Twitch streamer Cenat’s Instagram story announced a giveaway at Union Square Park on Friday at 4 p.m. By 1:30 p.m. about 300 people had gathered, Jeffrey Maddrey, the New York Police Department’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, said at a news conference Friday — “something we would expect for a social media event like this.” But by 3 p.m., news of the giveaway had spread widely online, and thousands of people began arriving in Union Square, he added.

Cenat has 6½ million followers on Twitch and holds the record for most monthly subscribers on the platform, with more than 300,000 paying viewers in February. That is more paying subscribers than most U.S. newspapers.

Twitch has banned Cenat several times since 2021 for various infractions, including displaying explicit imagery, threatening other users and streaming while under the influence.

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