In brief
- British prosecutors alleged the additional offences occurred between 2010 and 2017.
- The brothers are expected to appear in Miami's federal court early next week.
This article contains references to rape and assault.
Radical social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been arrested in the United States as British authorities seek their extradition on rape and sex trafficking charges.
The brothers' social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the world's most polarising internet personalities.
The US Marshals Service confirmed the arrest of 39-year-old Andrew Tate, a self-professed misogynist, and his younger brother on a sealed warrant, placing the US at the centre of an international legal saga that has stretched from Romania to Britain.
US news outlet TMZ posted a video of law enforcement officers placing the men in handcuffs and escorting them into waiting vehicles. Asked by an onlooker if he had something to say, Tristan Tate did not respond, the footage posted on social media platform X showed.
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British prosecutors said on Sunday they were prosecuting Andrew Tate with seven further counts of rape, three counts of facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault and 19 additional charges for offences relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography. He has already been charged previously for 10 counts of rape, assault and human trafficking.
Tristan Tate had been charged with an six more counts of sexual assault, rape and facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation. He already has 11 previous charges for the same crimes.
British prosecutors seeking the brothers' extradition alleging they conducted these offences between 2010 and 2017.
The dual US and British citizens 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 case didn't go forward because of legal and procedural irregularities.
The brothers are expected to appear in Miami's federal court early next week.
'Filth and slander'
The pending charges in the United Kingdom accused the brothers of abusing women in an area north of London, where they grew up. Their lawyers had said they denied the allegations.
Joseph McBride, a lawyer representing the Tate brothers, said in a phone interview he had not been able to speak with his clients but called the new charges out of the UK "filth and slander" intended to derail defamation lawsuits filed by the brothers in the US.
"They're pulling out all the stops to make sure these guys never get their day in court," McBride said.
"We are confident that once a competent judge sees the facts, and once the Department of Justice confronts this egregious abuse of its own authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free. America does not do Britain's political dirty work."
Andrew Tate first reached a mainstream audience as a contestant on the UK reality television show Big Brother in 2016. He was removed from the show when a video surfaced that appeared to show Tate assaulting a woman. He and his brother are vocal supporters of US President Donald Trump.
Andrew Tate has amassed over 10 million followers on X but has been banned from platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram for violating hate speech guidelines.
His most widely condemned rhetoric includes comments that women who are sexually assaulted should bear some responsibility for their attacks, graphic descriptions of how he might attack women and criticisms of people who seek treatment for mental illness.
The Tate brothers have consistently denied allegations of abuse and human trafficking, claiming that violent and misogynistic statements have been taken out of context or were intended as jokes.
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