A giveaway event that descended into chaos in Manhattan’s Union Square Park on Aug. 4 may have been driven by “outside agitators,” according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Thousands of people, mostly young people, gathered in New York City on Aug. 4 in anticipation of getting free PlayStation 5s or gift cards from a social media personality.
“We are further looking into where there’s some even outside agitators,” Mr. Adams told reporters at an unrelated briefing on Aug. 5.
“You don’t come to get free Game Boys and bring smoke bombs and bring M-80s and bring other disruptive items. We believe there were some outside influencers that may have attempted to aggravate this situation.”
Dangers of Social Media
In a second press conference on Aug. 4, New York City Police Department Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said the latest mayhem underscored the power and danger of social media.Mr. Cenat, along with another liver streamer, Fanum, encouraged their fans to come to Union Square Park where they would show up and give away PlayStation 5s and other free gifts at 4 p.m. on Aug. 4.
Livestreaming on Twitch from a vehicle as the event gathered steam, Mr. Cenat displayed gift cards he planned to give away. Noting the crowd and police presence, he said: “Everybody who’s out there, make sure y’all safe. ... We’re not gonna do nothin’ until it’s safe.”
The social media influencer’s group, Any Means Possible (AMP), issued a statement on Aug. 5, saying the Manhattan event was intended to show their appreciation to fans.
“Yesterday members of AMP hoped to create a positive experience for fans and give back as a show of appreciation for their support,” AMP said in a statement to media outlets. “We’ve hosted fan meet-ups and video shoots in the past, but we’ve never experienced anything at the scale of what took place yesterday.”
“We recognize that our audience and influence is growing, and with that comes greater responsibility. We are deeply disheartened by the outbreak of disorderly conduct that affected innocent people and businesses, and do not condone that behavior.
“We apologize to all of those impacted. We are fully cooperating with local authorities.”
The riots have led to at least 65 arrests, including 30 minors, the police said.
Mr. Cenat is facing charges of inciting a riot and promoting an unlawful gathering in New York City. He was released early on Aug. 5 from police custody after being issued a desk appearance ticket, which police issue to require a suspect to appear in court to answer charges. A police spokesperson said he is to appear in court on Aug. 18.
At least four civilians were taken away in ambulances, according to Mr. Maddrey. He added that he saw people leaving the scenes with blood, cuts, and bruises on their faces.
Three police officers were injured. Several police vehicles, including his own, were damaged.
“They destroyed food carts; they destroyed stores,” Mr. Maddrey said. “When the police cleared out the scene, some young people took plates off the people who were sitting outside dining and threw them at the police officers.”
‘Parenting Issue’
Mr. Maddrey thanked the parents who showed up or called his department to get their children out.“But I had thousands of kids out there. I needed thousands of parents out there,” he said.
“We don’t want to do this. We want our young people to come out and gather and have fun, but when it gets to the point when they’re disorderly, we want the parents to come and take control.”
Echoing his comments, Mr. Adams said the police force is not able to solve such chaos alone.
“This is not a policing issue. This is a parenting issue,” Mr. Adams told reporters on Aug. 5.
“Police is the response after an incident happened, but there should be a proactive approach.
“When I looked at what happened in Union Square, the first thing I did was text my son and say, ‘Where are you? Are you in Union Square?’ And I wonder, with the thousands of children who were there hurling dangerous objects at police officers, disrespecting the residents in the area, attacking each other, how many parents text their children? And that old commercial that says, ‘10 p.m., do you know who your children are?’
“How many looked at that and said, ‘Let me text my son. Let me call my daughter. Are you down there?’ And so [the police department] is not going to be able to resolve these issues on our own. ”
The mayhem in Union Square put further focus on the dangers of social media.
“Our children are being inundated by influencers, by those who consider themselves to be credible messengers,” Mr. Adams said.
“Our children cannot be raised by social media.
“Our children cannot get their values, their beliefs from social media and other outside entities.”
