More than two years after being detained in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking and establishing a criminal organization to sexually exploit women, controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate have finally made it to the United States. To the consternation of educators, 38-year-old self-described misogynist and former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate has amassed a sizable social media following, especially among young males and schoolboys. Known as the “King of Toxic Masculinity,” he is regarded as one of the “most controversial figures on the internet.” Tristan, 36, describes himself as an entrepreneur and was once a kickboxer. Since their arrest in December 2022, the two have been prohibited from traveling and have been under house detention for some months in the vicinity of Bucharest.
Despite being allowed to leave Romania, they are still the subject of a criminal investigation there. Additionally, Andrew Tate faces rape charges. The accusations are denied by both men. All wrongdoing is denied by the brothers. Andrew has repeatedly referenced “The Matrix,” a term used by a number of male right-wing individuals to denounce what they perceive to be conspiracies against them, and argued that Romanian authorities lack any evidence. Joseph McBride, the Tates’ attorney, wrote on X Thursday morning that the brothers, who are dual nationals of the United States and the United Kingdom, “have returned home to America.” “Yesterday — Romania rightly decided it didn’t have the evidence needed to hold them any longer,” he stated.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters that the Trump administration has the final say over whether to deny them entry, but that the state’s attorney general is investigating what power “we may have to be able to deal with this.” “The reality is: No, Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct up in the air,” DeSantis stated. “I’m not sure how this happened. We weren’t informed and weren’t involved.” McBride replied on Twitter that the Tates are plaintiffs in a well-known defamation lawsuit being tried in Palm Beach County, in addition to being residents of the United States. In 2023, they filed a lawsuit against an unnamed American woman, alleging that she had provided Romanian authorities with false testimony. Earlier this month, she launched a countersuit against them. Although the specifics of the brothers’ release are unknown, it comes after rumors that Romania was under pressure from Trump administration officials to remove the travel restrictions. One outspoken advocate of the president is Andrew Tate.
Tate said earlier this month, “The Tates will be free, Trump is the president,” on X, where he has more than 10 million followers. “We’ve returned to the good old days. They will also be better than before. In a press statement issued Thursday, DIICOT, Romania’s anti-organized crime organization, stated that prosecutors had granted permission for a “request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania.” Who made the request was not specified in the statement. NPR’s request for additional information was not immediately answered by DIICOT or Tate’s legal team. No reaction was provided by the State Department.
Other “judicial control measures” are still in effect, according to Romanian authorities, including the brothers’ obligation to appear in court whenever called. The Tates are also accused of sexual assault and tax evasion in the UK, in addition to their charges in Romania. In March 2024, an appeals court in Romania decided that the two could be extradited to the United Kingdom, but only when Romanian legal proceedings were finished. Following his arrival in Florida, Andrew Tate informed reporters outside the airport that Romanian prosecutors had made the decision “to let us go and return, because we have no active indictment in court. Additionally, he emphasized that neither of the two had been found guilty of any crimes. “We live in a democratic society where it’s innocent until proven guilty and I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood,” he said. Here’s a look at the contentious social media figure and the cases against him as speculation about what might happen next grows.