Twitch Streamer Carl SoaRCarl Riemer Banned After Shooting Gun On Livestream

During a routine Twitch stream on March 4th, 2020, streamer Carl “SoaRCarl” Riemer accidentally fired his Glock sidearm and was subsequently suspended from the platform with a ban following shortly after. Since the incident, the video has been circulating around the internet sparking debates and stirring online discussions. The clip has since been viewed on Twitter over 3.6 million times.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT pic.twitter.com/CEHnCvLbiF

— cam! (@cam834) March 5, 2020

In the clip, Riemer is seen sitting at his desk drinking a beer when he grabs the pistol and removes it from a holster. He then leans into the microphone and says, “Bitch, say I ain’t got money. Say I ain’t got money,” proceeding to pull the gun’s slide back multiple times as an unfired round is ejected onto the tabletop. Suddenly, Riemer points the gun to his left across the desk and fires a single round into a steel cup and one of his expensive monitors with a look of disbelief as he realizes what happened, stating, “Goddamn. What the fuck? I swear to God I just emptied the mag.”

Twitch was quick to take notice of the accidental discharge, suspending Riemer and then outright banning him later on. The official policy regarding the ban from Twitch’s website states that they have a zero-tolerance harassment violation for “brandishing lethal or harmful weapons, such as guns, knives, or explosives,” and that “all accounts associated with such activity will receive an immediate indefinite suspension.” At the time, Riemer currently had around 108,000 followers on the platform.

In addition to the Twitch ban, SoaR Gaming, the esports organization Riemer was a member of, also released a statement on Twitter that he has been removed from their roster.

We do not condone the actions on livestream by Carl last night. He has been removed from the SoaR Gaming roster effective immediately.

— SoaR (@SoaRGaming) March 5, 2020

Riemer has profusely apologized for the incident since then, explaining in a video posted to his YouTube channel (where he has over 852,000 subscribers) that he was drunk and feels stupid for the mistake that has now considerably impacted his livelihood and career as both a streamer and esports player. On Twitter, Riemer said, “Don't do what I did. Ever. Literally everything was going perfectly in life and one mistake ruined everything I've been doing for year. I cannot put into words how sorry I am and how dangerous what I did last night was.” He went on to claim that the weapon was purchased for self-defense, not for gags.

This type of ban isn’t something new for Twitch, as there have been many other incidents in the past with weapons on livestreams resulting in suspensions or bans. One such example occurred on December 30th, 2019, when the developers of the popular shooter looter Escape From Tarkov were similarly banned after a Battlestate team member pointed a real gun to his head during a livestream and proceeded to pull the trigger in a feigned suicide attempt.