Florida Launches Criminal Investigation Into Andrew Tate

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that his office has launched a criminal investigation into Andrew and Tristan Tate, who face human trafficking charges in Romania, just days after their return to the U.S.

Uthmeier stated on social media that he has directed his office to collaborate with law enforcement on a preliminary inquiry into the Tate brothers.

"After a thorough review of the evidence, I've instructed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers," Uthmeier said.

Following the Tates' arrival in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters that the brothers were not welcome in Florida and that he had asked the attorney general to explore whether the state had jurisdiction over any of their alleged crimes.

During a Monday appearance on the PPD Podcast, Andrew Tate accused Florida's governor of caving to media pressure, asserting that he has a U.S. passport and the right to visit his home country. He insisted he has broken no laws and pointed out that he has never been tried, let alone convicted, of any crime.

The Tate brothers, dual U.S.-British citizens, were arrested in late 2022 and formally indicted last year in Romania on charges of participating in a criminal network that lured women to the country for sexual exploitation. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. Both deny the allegations.

Andrew Tate, 38, a former professional kickboxer and self-proclaimed misogynist, is a highly influential social media figure with millions of followers, many of them young men and schoolchildren drawn to his lavish online persona. He and his 36-year-old brother, Tristan, are outspoken supporters of Donald Trump.

Tate has previously been banned from TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook for hate speech and misogynistic remarks, including claims that women should bear responsibility for sexual assault.

The brothers left Romania after Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu revealed that a Trump administration official recently expressed interest in their case during the Munich Security Conference.

It is currently unclear why the travel restrictions have been lifted, and the Romanian Prime Minister has said that the U.S. government did not pressure Romanian authorities into letting the brothers travel to America.

As part of a separate investigation, the Tate brothers are wanted by police in the U.K. over allegations of rape, human trafficking and tax evasion. They deny those allegations. They may face extradition to the U.K. once the case in Romania is resolved.

Tate said on the PBD podcast: "I don't know why Ron's answer wasn't, 'He has an American passport. The judicial system in Romania, which I know absolutely nothing about, decided to let him fly, and he's flown to his home country. As far as we're concerned, he's broken no laws.'"

He continued: "Instead, what he did was say: 'We're going to get our attorney general to try and find some laws he's broken and wreck this man who's done nothing inside of the United States ever.'"

Governor Ron DeSantis said last week: "We have no involvement in that. I read about it through the media. Clearly the federal government has jurisdiction whether they want to rebuff his entry into the United States, and I have confidence that whether it's Pam Bondi or Kristi Noam that they will be looking at that.

"I do know our Attorney General, James Uthmeier, is looking at what state hooks and jurisdiction we may have to be able to deal with this. But the reality is, no, Florida is not a place where you're welcome with that type of conduct in the air. And I don't know how it came to this. We were not involved, we were not notified, I found out through the media that this was something that was happening."

The Tate brothers will have to return to Romania later this year, as they are still under the "judicial control" of the Romanian special prosecutor's service. Their criminal proceedings are still ongoing despite them being allowed to travel outside of the country.