Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will fight extradition to the UK where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, their lawyer said Monday, suggesting their arrest in Miami was politically motivated without explaining why.
The Tates appeared in federal court Monday for the primary time since their arrest on Saturday and are being held in federal detention. In the approaching weeks, a U.S. district judge will consider whether or not they meet the conditions for extradition. U.S. Magistrate Lauren Louis set one other hearing for Monday July 27.
The brothers, normally photographed in tailored suits and fitted shirts, wore tan jail uniforms and handcuffs through the transient hearing. Neither brother said a word through the hearing.
Their attorney, Joseph McBride, insisted they need to remain within the U.S.
“We’re in fact objecting to extradition because Andrew and Tristan are innocent,” McBride said after the hearing. “They’ve never done nothing unsuitable. They shouldn’t be extradited for crimes they didn’t commit.”
The brothers were surprised after they were arrested, McBride said, adding that the try to have them extradited was politically motivated. “There’s no doubt about it,” he told reporters.
He suggested the Tates’ case “had rather a lot to do with” former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to step down, without providing any details, and said it was no coincidence that the brothers were arrested after meeting “friends in Washington, D.C.”
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“We went to see our Congress people in D.C. and now we’re getting arrested. This feels political,” McBride said. He didn’t specify who the pair met with or what was discussed.
On Sunday, McBride said he was confident the extradition request could be denied.
Prosecutors in Britain said the brand new charges relate to 4 recent victims and were brought after authorities received evidence from Bedfordshire Police in southeastern England. The allegations, spanning 2010 to 2017, include rape, assault, trafficking and offenses regarding “indecent images of a baby and extreme pornography.”
McBride said none of the most recent accusers have been identified, adding “we’d wish to know who’s accused Andrew and Tristan of what.”
The brothers are already charged with rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain regarding three other alleged victims within the U.K. between 2012 and 2015.
Their lawyer said in an announcement Saturday that he believed the arrests were “greenlighted by a low-level functionary” on the Justice Department without input from leadership. The Justice Department told The Associated Press that the arrests were approved by leadership of its Criminal Division.
The brand new allegations are the most recent in a long-running international legal saga involving the Tates that has spanned the U.S., Britain and Romania. The brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Their social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the many world’s most polarizing web personalities.
The twin U.S. and British residents moved to Romania in 2016. They were arrested there in 2022, accused of participating in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation. They denied those allegations and the Romanian case hasn’t gone forward due to legal and procedural problems.
Last yr, they were allowed to depart Romania and flew to Florida.
The previous skilled kickboxers have hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and are vocal supporters of President Donald Trump.
Andrew Tate, 39, first became known a decade ago when he was a contestant on the U.K. reality television show “Big Brother.” He was booted from the show when a video appeared to indicate him assaulting a lady.
He has amassed over 10 million followers on X but has been banned from other platforms for violating hate speech guidelines, including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. He has made widely condemned comments, akin to saying women who’re sexually assaulted should bear some responsibility for the attacks and sharing graphic descriptions of how he might attack women.
The Tate brothers have consistently denied allegations of abuse and human trafficking, claiming their violent and misogynistic statements have been taken out of context or were intended as jokes.
Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, D.C., and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
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