Baltimore police arrest man on live TV, sparking interest on social media

(CNN)As viewers watched on live television, a manheld his hands up and walked in front of a phalanx of police in Baltimore on Tuesday night, after a citywide curfew had started.

Seconds later, several officers in riot gear rushed out of their line and arrested him, making social media churn with questions about what happened to the man.

The incident unfolded live on CNN about 40 minutes after the 10 p.m. curfew went into effect and as authorities tried to prevent the kind of rioting -- part ofprotests over the death of Freddie Gray -- that plagued the city a night earlier.

Authorities would eventually say the arrested man was Joseph Kent, held on a charge of curfew violation, according to the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

But people on Twitter already were circulating the name of Kent, a Baltimore activist, just minutes after the footage aired and before anyone announced why he was arrested, making #JosephKent and #WhereIsJosephKent hot topics for hours.