Any Means Possible Law enforcement On August 4, 2023, at approximately 3:30 p.m., American Internet personality Kai Cenat held an event—supposedly a giveaway of gaming-related items in New York City's Union Square—without a permit.

The following year he gained popularity after producing a series of live streams with Drake, 21 Savage, and Lil Uzi Vert.

[3] In February 2023, the United Talent Agency announced they would represent Cenat during his subathon (a continuous live stream in which a new subscriber extends a descending timer).

[6] In the days preceding the August 4 gathering, Cenat announced that he would give away PlayStation 5 consoles at 4 p.m. in Union Square along 14th Street, where he would be joined by Fanum, Duke Dennis, and Agent00, three Twitch streamers.

[10][13] The New York City Police Department (NYPD) became aware of the gathering as dozens of people began converging.

Some people climbed on a gazebo, vehicles, and a statue of George Washington,[16] while some threw bottles at police officers and other objects at car windows.

[18] According to the NYPD, individuals walked around with shovels and axes taken from a nearby construction site, while others lit fireworks.

[9] A CBS New York helicopter captured a man discharging a fire extinguisher on a crowd of people.

[21] Cenat appeared in a black SUV[22] on a live stream with gift cards worth $100 each[14] and claimed that police were throwing tear gas.

[20] New York City Mayor Eric Adams praised police for their "quick work" in dispersing the crowd.

They claimed that he had already paid $55,000 in restitution to the Union Square Partnership, the neighborhood's nonprofit organization for economic development.

[42] In a Wired article comparing the event to similar Internet-based incidents, University of Sydney digital culture lecturer Mark Johnson opined on the effect of social media (such as the interactivity of Twitch) on the relationships between streamers and their fans.

Johnson described the occurrence as an example of "emergent behavior", where Internet users transition from interacting online to entering the real world.

[44] Bailey Calfee of PRWeek noted that a lack of prior planning and the risks of running an in-person event contributed to the riot.