Wednesday, March 5, 2025 - The office of Florida's attorney general has opened a criminal investigation into Andrew and Tristan Tate, days after they returned to the U.S.
Attorney General James Uthmeier said he had directed his office to work
with law enforcement to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the Tate brothers,
who are charged with human trafficking in Romania and landed
in Fort Lauderdale last Thursday.
After their arrival, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that the brothers
weren't welcome in Florida and that he would have the attorney
general examine whether the state may have any jurisdiction over their alleged
crimes.
On Tuesday, Uthmeier said: “Based on a thorough review of the evidence,
I’ve directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants
and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate
brothers.”
The Tates, who are dual U.S.-British citizens, were arrested in late
2022 and formally indicted last year in Romania on charges they
participated in a criminal ring that lured women to that country, where they
were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with r@pe. They
deny the allegations.
Andrew Tate, 38, is a former professional kickboxer and self-described
misogynist who is a hugely successful social media figure, attracting millions
of followers, many of them young men and schoolchildren drawn in by the
luxurious lifestyle the influencer projects online. He and his 36-year-old
brother, Tristan, are vocal supporters of Trump.
Andrew Tate previously was banned from TikTok, YouTube, and
Facebook for hate speech and his misogynistic comments, including that women
should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted.
The Tates left Romania after Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said this
month that a Trump administration official expressed interest in the brothers’
case at the recent Munich Security Conference.
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