Popular Twitch streamer and content creator Kai Cenat will not be prosecuted over the giveaway-turned-riot he sparked in Union Square Park last summer, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday.
Bragg’s office dropped the charges against Cenat, 22, after the live streamer issued a public apology and forked over thousands to help pay for damages caused by the mayhem at the Manhattan park on Aug. 4, 2023.
Cenat, who boasts more than 10 million followers on each Instagram, Twitch and Tiktok, had announced that he was hosting a PS5 video game console giveaway in the park despite not having a permit.
A massive crowd of young fans showed up for the giveaway and quickly turned destructive and violent.
The fans allegedly brawled with one another, smashed car windows, hurled rocks and even fireworks at others, and assaulted police officers.
Videos show the rioters tossing cones, garbage cans and bottles at one another, as well as innocent passersby and responding officers.
Cops arrested 65 other people, including 30 juveniles following the nearly three hours of chaos.
Cenat was facing two counts of inciting a riot and one count of unlawful assembly, but the district attorney’s office decided to drop all charges against him and two others — Denzel Dennis and Muktar Din — after the three paid a combined total of over $57,000 for the damages and clean-up and publicly apologized.
Cenat alone paid $55,000 to the Union Square Partnership, Inc., according to the DA.
The influencer posted his public apology on Snapchat.
“When I promoted a give-away PS 5s in Union Square Park it created an intentional dangerous situation due to the way I promoted and advertised it,” he wrote in the statement. “The result was unsafe situation for the people who live and work in the neighborhood, first responders, and my followers that attended the event.
“I apologize for the disruption and damage to the community, the park, the vehicles, and the storefront in the area,” he added.
The case will officially be dismissed once the public apology is on social media for a full 24 hours, Bragg’s office said.
“It was never my intent for it to get so out of hand, and I have learned a very valuable lesson that social media is a very powerful tool to do good, but it can also cause dangerous unwanted situations if it is not used properly,” Cenat wrote.
