Washington (United States) (AFP) – Radical social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were on Sunday in custody in the US, officials said, as Britain seeks their extradition to face new charges of rape, sex trafficking and assault. Karena Thomas, assistant chief constable of the UK’s Bedfordshire Police, said the pair had been detained “pending ongoing legal proceedings.” The US Marshals Service confirmed the arrests.
US news outlet TMZ posted video of law enforcement officers placing the self-professed misogynist and his younger sibling in handcuffs and escorting them into waiting vehicles in Miami on Saturday. Asked by an onlooker if he had something to say, Tristan Tate did not respond, the footage posted on X showed. UK prosecutors, who are now due to seek the brothers’ extradition, said the arrests came after they brought forward 38 further charges against the pair.
The Tate brothers now face 59 charges in total — 42 against Andrew and 17 against Tristan, British authorities said on Sunday. “We have decided to prosecute Andrew and Tristan Tate for further offences including rape, arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation and offences relating to indecent images of a child,” Malcolm McHaffie, head of the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) Special Crime Division, said in a statement. “The CPS has requested the extradition of the Tates from the US,” he said, adding that the latest charges stem from receipt of new evidence from Bedfordshire Police that brings the total number of alleged victims in the Tates case to seven.
Earlier this year, police in Hertfordshire, north of London, said they were reopening a probe into rape and sexual assault allegations made by women against Andrew Tate between 2014 and 2015. They also face separate rape and human trafficking allegations brought by different women and investigated by Bedfordshire Police, which covers their hometown of Luton, also north of London. “There is no place for male violence against women and girls, and we will continue to work tirelessly to support victims and investigate all reports made to us,” Bedfordshire Police’s Thomas added.
The Tate brothers are also accused of tax evasion and money laundering in the UK. Their attorney, Joseph McBride, said in a press release that the brothers “are innocent.” “We are confident that once a competent judge sees the facts, and once the Department of Justice confronts this egregious abuse of its own authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free,” McBride said.
The Tates are dual British-US citizens who have been avid supporters of US President Donald Trump. Lawyer Matt Jury, of McCue Jury & Partners who represent four alleged British victims of Andrew Tate, said Tate was “now facing the real prospect of extradition to the UK after years of public campaigning by the four British women I represent.” They have spent years fighting for action to be taken, and I now urge the authorities to ensure this case proceeds as quickly as possible.
“Andrew and Tristan Tate are accused of some of the most serious offences, including multiple counts of rape and human trafficking. It is time they face justice,” he was quoted by the PA news agency as saying. In March 2025, the US state of Florida launched a criminal investigation against them. The status of that investigation is unclear.
Andrew Tate is one of the most prominent proponents of the so-called “manosphere” network of communities, many of them online, that focus on traditional masculinity, anti-feminism, and self-improvement. He promotes his divisive views, often incorporating alpha-male and aggressively misogynistic themes, to millions on social media including 10.8 million followers on X. In Romania, where they have been based in recent years, the Tates face allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.
© 2024 AFP
