Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, arrived on Thursday in the US after authorities lifted travel restrictions on the siblings.
The Tates, who are dual US-British citizens and have millions of online followers, were arrested in late 2022 and formally indicted last year on charges that they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to Romania, where they were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. They have denied the allegations.
Andrew Tate, 38, a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who has amassed more than 10 million followers on X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him. He is a vocal supporters of US President Donald Trump, posting on X weeks ago: “The Tates will be free, Trump is the President. The good old days are back. And they will be better than ever. Hold on.”
But Mr Trump, has denied knowing anything about the brothers' return.
"I know nothing about that," he said during a media conference alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "We'll check it out."
The brothers landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to a representative. They did not receive a ready welcome from Trump-supporting Governor Ron DeSantis.
"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," Mr DeSantis told Newsweek. "We were not involved, we were not notified, I found out through the media that this was something that was happening."
In December, a Romanian court ruled that the Tates' case could not go to trial because of legal and procedural irregularities on the part of the prosecutors. The case, however, remained open, and there is also another investigation against them in Romania.
While Romanian authorities lifted a travel ban on the brothers, they are still required to appear before judicial authorities when summoned.
Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said this month that a Trump administration official had expressed interest in the brothers’ case at the recent Munich Security Conference. Mr Hurezeanu insisted no pressure was applied to lift restrictions on the Tates after a Financial Times report on the meeting caused a stir in Romania.
The brothers' legal battles are not limited to Romania. A group of British women who accused Andrew Tate of sexual violence and physical abuse are suing him in the UK, after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute him.
The women said on Thursday in a joint statement that they are “in disbelief and feel re-traumatised” by news that the travel restrictions were lifted.
Late last year, a UK court ruled that police can seize more than £2.6 million ($3.3 million) to cover years of unpaid taxes from the pair and freeze some of their accounts. Andrew Tate called it “outright theft” and said it was “a co-ordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system".
