Prosecutors Face ‘Uphill Battle’ With Riot Charges Against Kai Cent After Chaotic Giveaway in NYC

Prosecutors may have an "uphill battle" in getting charges to stick in the case of an influencer whose NYC meetup ended in chaos on Friday, according to a local law professor.

Kai Cenat, a Twitch streamer from the Bronx, N.Y., was charged with riot in the first degree, inciting a riot and unlawful assembly, after thousands of his followers showed up in Manhattan's Union Square for a giveaway he promoted.

The gathering became unruly, resulting in damage to businesses and cars before police were able to disperse the massive crowd.

Cenat, 21, has not yet been arraigned; a hearing is set for Aug. 18.

"The prosecutor will probably have an uphill battle with some of them, in particular the more serious charges," professor Anna Cominsky, a former litigation associate, tells The Messenger. "Riot in the first degree is a Class E felony, so that's the most serious charge and that has an intentional element to it."

"Based on what I know," she continues, "his call for people to come because he was going to give away these games or PlayStations, it's my legal opinion that it would be difficult for the prosecutor to show that there was this intentional piece to that, with respect to causing a grave risk of public alarm."

Cominsky, who specializes in federal and state criminal defense and teaches at New York Law School, says Cenat's invitation to the giveaway was not a "call to action" in the sense that he was calling for fans to riot.

If the charge sticks and Cenat is found guilty, he could face up to 4 years in prison and a $5,000.00 fine.

Proving Lesser Charges

Inciting to riot, the next most serious charge, could still be difficult to prove, according to Cominsky

Unlawful assembly, a class B misdemeanor with a common sentence of less than 12 months in jail, is a charge that could stick, the professor believes, in part because Cenat was present when the situation started to get out of hand.

"There's a question about the timing," Cominsky adds. "My understanding is that he called this event together, he gathered these people, he appeared and then when things started to get really chaotic he left."

"So I do actually see the prosecutor potentially having a problem with this as well, because the intent to engage in tumultuous conduct does not seem to be there in respect to his conduct and in respect to his words," she continues.

"How other people acted based on the gathering itself is not his fault unless he was encouraging it, and it doesn't appear that he did, at least from what I know so far."

The streamer announced on Aug. 2 that he would be in Union Square on Friday for the giveaway.

"That s--- might end really quick depending on how rowdy you get and s--- like that," he said ahead of the event. "Now, look — it is a public area. So anything can happen, bro. Anything can happen."

Cenat has a huge social media following, with 6.5 million on streaming site Twitch, 5.7 million on Instagram and 4 million on YouTube. The giveaway announcement is still online, but he has mostly kept quiet since Friday's event turned chaotic.

"It's going to be the potential defendant's own words that are going to be used against him, with respect to an inciting a riot charge," Cominsky says.

"So it is helpful to prosecutors to be able to see what information was out there, what were the words the defendant used? That's what they are going to want to use against him."

Prosecutors also need to show that Cenat understood what the consequences of his words and actions would be, according to the professor.

"In this case," she explains, "it does not seem like they have the words that they need to show that intent."

Meeting Their Idol

There are countless photos and videos from the event, which drew thousands of young people and lasted several hours.

YouTuber David Armah interviewed Kai Cenat's fans as they gathered to try and see the man they regularly watch on their screens.

"The reason why so many people showed up is because of his positive influence on the community," Armah tells The Messenger.

Armah believes fans see Cenat as a Black New Yorker who's showed his peers how they could possibly make it big online, too.

Another reason Cenat's crowd was so large on Friday, according to Armah, is the platform Cenat primarily uses — Twitch.

He says content creators popular on Instagram, for example, would not pull the audience a Twitch streamer would, because audiences on the latter are engaged for far longer and are able to chat with creators, making them feel a stronger connection.

The YouTuber says this was one of the first big streamer meet-ups, so there are lessons to be learned by influencers, PR companies and even the police.

"Knowing your core audience and having adult supervision is important if your core audience is primarily teens or kids," Armah says. "It got big so fast, but there wasn't even that many adults."

"Having just more of a security presence, barricades so that everyone knows where the giveaway is going to be at, would help," he adds.

Professor Cominsky agrees that Cenat's case may represent a new area of the law, as we see "younger and younger people having a wider and wider audience" — and a stronger influence on their passionate and impressionable followers.

"It's probably easy for us to say there's no way he intended for this to happen. He left, he issued a statement saying this isn't what he wanted. It seems clear that this wasn't his intent," says Cominsky.

But "when you look at the reckless piece, I think that is when you get into this new thinking," she explains. "Well, wait a minute, when is it we should say 'you are responsible enough, you should have an understanding that if you say this, this would be the result?'"

Cominsky says a lot does hang on whether prosecutors can secure these charges or if Cenat pleads guilty. That includes any possible civil lawsuits over damages sustained on Friday.

PR firms working with influencers should watch this case closely, adds the professor, who suggests precedents could potentially be set.

"This is a case," Cominsky says, "where you are going to see a judge making some decisions, lawyers making arguments about where that line is between free speech and inciting a riot."