Giveaway by Influencer in NYC’s Union Square Sparks Chaos

Thousands of young people descended on New York City’s Union Square on Friday afternoon after a social media influencer announced a video game console giveaway, sparking chaotic scenes in which officers were hit with rocks and bottles and leaving dozens of attendees injured.

There were numerous arrests and “acts of violence” at what New York City Police Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey described as an unlawful assembly in the downtown Manhattan park. Union Square was “overrun,” he said, and the surge snarled traffic and temporarily suspended subway service on several train lines.