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Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, whose social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them one of the world’s most polarizing internet figures, were arrested on Saturday in Miami as British authorities requested their extradition on charges of rape and sex trafficking.
The brothers were detained by the U.S. Marshals Service on sealed warrants, the agency’s spokesman, Brady McCarron, told The Associated Press, putting the United States at the center of an international legal saga stretching from Romania to Britain.
Britain is seeking their extradition on charges of rape and human trafficking
British prosecutors announced on Saturday that they were seeking the extradition of the brothers on charges of raping and trafficking women between 2010 and 2017.
The dual US and UK citizen moved to Romania in 2016. They were arrested there in 2022, accused of participating in a scheme to lure women for sexual exploitation. They denied the allegations and Romania’s case has not been continued due to legal and procedural issues.
Last year, they were allowed to leave Romania and fly to Florida on a private jet.
The brothers are expected to appear in Miami federal court early next week, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive law enforcement operation.
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Charges still pending in Britain accuse the brothers of abusing women in the north London area, where they grew up. Their lawyers say they deny the allegations.
Joseph McBride, a lawyer representing the Tate brothers, said in a telephone interview late Saturday that he had not been able to speak with his clients but called the new charges in Britain “smut and slander” intended to derail a defamation lawsuit filed by the brothers in the US.
“They make every effort to make sure these people never get their day in court,” McBride said.
“We are confident that once a competent judge looks at the facts, and once the Justice Department confronts its own abuse of power, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free. America is not doing the political dirty work that Britain is doing.”
Tate has been banned from social media platforms for hate speech
Andrew Tate, 39, first reached mainstream audiences as a contestant on the British reality television show “Big Brother” in 2016. He was removed from the show when a video emerged showing Tate assaulting a woman. He and his brother Tristan Tate, 38, are vocal supporters of US President Donald Trump.
Andrew Tate has amassed more than 10 million followers on X but has been banned from platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram for violating hate speech guidelines. His most widely condemned rhetoric included comments that women who were sexually assaulted should bear responsibility for their attacks, graphic descriptions of how he might assault women, and criticism of people seeking treatment for mental illness.
The Tate brothers have consistently denied allegations of abuse and human trafficking, claiming that violent and misogynistic statements were taken out of context or intended as jokes.
In a statement on Saturday, the United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service said that in addition to the charges publicly announced against the brothers in 2025, involving alleged crimes against three women, there were a total of 38 new charges related to “a further four victims.”
The two brothers were accused of rape and human trafficking. Andrew Tate faces additional charges of profiting from prostitution, and 19 charges “for offenses relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography,” according to British authorities.
“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,” said Karena Thomas, assistant chief constable at Bedfordshire Police, who investigated the case.
—Associated Press writer Savannah Peters in Santa Fe, New Mexico contributed to this report.
© 2026 Canadian Press
