Riot in New York: an influencer prosecuted
The famous streamer-influencer Kai Cenat was charged with rebellion on Saturday among other counts, after having provoked a crowd in Manhattan the day before which degenerated.
Updated6 August 2023, 06:59
Kai Cenat accepts the Streamer of the Year award at the YouTube Streamy Awards in Beverly Hills, California on December 4, 2022.
Getty Images via AFP
Kai Cenat, 21-year-old content creator, on Friday triggered the gathering of nearly 5,000 young people according to American media, with promises of gifts such as PlayStation 5 consoles.
He was charged with rebellion, incitement to insurrection and unlawful assembly, a New York police spokesman told AFP. Four other people have been charged. About a thousand officers were deployed to contain the crowd, which injured people.
Cenat, very popular on YouTube (4.1 million subscribers) and on the Twitch broadcasting platform (6.5 million “followers”), called on his fans to come and find him in Union Square, in lower Manhattan. , for an event filmed live, during which he had promised to distribute consoles and other gifts.
“Out of control”
But the meeting degenerated as the place filled with people, some young people starting to throw objects from a nearby construction site towards other participants or the police. Televisions also showed individuals surrounding and blocking vehicles and climbing onto the roof of a black SUV.
“I personally saw young people walking bleeding from the head and face, I saw young people with panic attacks, anxiety and asthma (…) It was out of control”, has said New York Police Chief (NYPD) Jeffrey Madrée, during a very brief press briefing in the neighborhood.
“It took us a while to regain control and a lot of young people were injured,” the police officer said.
(AFP)Show comments
2023-08-06 04:59:29
#Riot #York #influencer #prosecuted
