New York City Mayor Eric Adams has suggested that the riot that evolved after Kai Cenat announced an IRL giveaway could have been driven by “outside influencers.”
On August 4, 2023, Twitch star Kai Cenat announced that he was doing an IRL giveaway in New York City when thousands of his fans arrived at the area he was in.
It quickly turned into a riot, leading to the NYPD pressing charges against Cenat.
However, NYC Mayor Eric Adams said in a press conference that he thinks “outside influencers” may have come to Union Square to start the riot after Kai announced the giveaway.
NYC Mayor thinks “outside influencers” caused Kai Cenat riot
In a press conference just a day after the incident, Mayor Adams made the suggestion that people outside of Kai’s fan base may have arrived with the sole purpose of starting the riot.
“We are further looking into were there even some outside agitators. You don’t come to get free Game Boys and bring smoke bombs and bring M-80’s and other disruptive items,” said Adams.
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“We believe that there were some outside influencers that may have attempted to aggravate the situation.”
Kai Cenat has yet to respond to the situation since his arrest on August 4, likely due to legal counsel advising him to stay quiet while they figure out the situation.
According to the video, Police arrested about 65 people during the riot with roughly half of them being under the age of 18.
We’ll be sure to update you as the situation involving Kai continues to evolve, but in the meantime, you can check out what his org, AMP, had to say about the chaotic giveaway.