Last August, streamer Kai Cenat held an unsanctioned PlayStation 5 giveaway in New York’s Union Square, which resulted in the formation of a mob and eventual riot.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has finally made a decision regarding the riot, which occurred nine months ago on Aug. 4, 2023. Cenat will not face any further charges for the events that transpired in New York last summer, according to reports citing a statement from officials yesterday.
Cenat was charged with a fine of $55,000, while two others were forced to pay restitution fines of just over $1,000 each. In total, the roughly $57,000 received by the city will go toward damages caused by the event. In addition, a public social media apology posted by Cenat, as well as the fact no new arrests were made between today and the date of the riot, played a role in the Manhattan DA office’s decision to drop any charges against the streamer.
Cenat’s August 2023 PS5 giveaway in New York’s Union Square quickly turned into one of the most hectic and unruly streaming-centric events of the summer. Within hours, Cenat’s loyal base of fans turned out in droves after the streamer posted a video of him displaying a truckload of PS5s and gift cards that he intended to give away to his fan base.
At the end of the day, no one ever got a PS5 from Cenat as the event was broken up by New York police officers before it was even scheduled to begin.
“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 said in his apology, which was posted to his Snapchat story (and will disappear after 24 hours). “I know the Mayor, District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and the New York Police Department are looking out for the safety of the citizens of NYC, and I want to thank them for their dedicated hard work.”
Last summer’s riot resulted in three New York Police Department officers being injured and the arrests of at least 65 civilians. Cenat himself was taken into custody after being swept away from the scene of the event by officers shortly after things got out of hand.
Cenat had originally been slated to be charged with two counts of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly, according to NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddery via a report from NBC 4 New York made on the day of the riot. But those charges never came to fruition and the streamer will instead not face any major criminal consequence.
