A popular livestreamer known as XenaTheWitch was arrested in Austin this week after a viral scavenger hunt stunt allegedly turned into an assault.
Austin police say 29-year-old Amaris Sampson, better known online as XenaTheWitch, shot a woman with a paintball gun on August 9 during a $30,000 scavenger hunt organized by fellow streamer Paul “Ice Poseidon” Denino. The game was being streamed live, with participants and viewers tracking Sampson’s progress in real time.
But around 5:55 p.m., near the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail along South Lakeshore Boulevard, police say Sampson fired a paintball at a woman who appeared to have nothing to do with the scavenger hunt and wasn’t wearing protective gear. The victim told officers she was struck in the thigh, felt pain immediately, and suffered an injury.
Video from the stream circulated widely on social media. In the clip, the woman can be heard telling others, “Yeah, she… shot me. It was one of them girls.” Sampson reportedly replied that she didn’t care, although with more harsh language.
Investigators say Sampson acted recklessly, discharging the paintball gun in a public space without proper safety measures and putting bystanders at risk. A warrant was issued for her arrest, and she was taken into custody Wednesday before being booked into the Travis County Jail.
Sampson now faces two Class A misdemeanor charges: assault with bodily injury and deadly conduct. In Texas, each carries a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Before her arrest, Sampson had over 37,000 followers on Kick, the streaming platform where she built her audience through provocative and often chaotic content. In the wake of the incident, she has deleted her account, and Kick has banned her from the platform entirely.
The online community wasn’t exactly shocked, but that doesn’t mean that people were happy about it. One user on X, formerlly Twitter, summed up the temperature in the room, saying, “Clout chasing by these streamers is going to start actually getting people hurt and maybe even wiped out.”
This isn’t Sampson’s first controversy. In January, her cameraman allegedly stole an Uber driver’s phone during a livestream and threw it under the car, which is just not cool.
For now, the case will play out in court — and serves as a reminder that in the streaming world, the line between entertainment and criminal behavior can be crossed in seconds, often with lasting consequences.
