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Social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother can be extradited to the U.K. on an arrest warrant issued by British authorities, a Romanian court has ruled.
Andrew, a 37-year-old British-U.S. citizen and self-proclaimed misogynist, along with his brother Tristan Tate, were detained for 24 hours in Romania on Monday night, a representative for the Tate brothers said.
They were taken into custody for allegations of “sexual aggression” from 2012 to 2015 in the U.K., the New York Times reported.
On Tuesday, a judge at the Bucharest Court of Appeal said the brothers can be extradited only after the conclusion of their separate trial in Romania involving sex trafficking charges from 2022. Both Andrew and Tristan were released from custody Tuesday and were seen in handcuffs as they were escorted by police outside the courthouse.
The British arrest warrant stems from claims made by four women in the U.K., who have accused Andrew of sexual violence and abuse.
The accusations against Tristan are currently unclear.
Andrew’s spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said the charges listed in the U.K. arrest warrant had already been dismissed by the Crown Prosecution Service. The case has since been reopened, though the reasoning is not yet known.
Petrescu said the brothers “categorically reject all charges and express profound disappointment that such serious allegations are being resurrected without substantial new evidence.”
The brothers are already being investigated by Romanian authorities in a separate case involving allegations of rape, human trafficking in Romania, Britain and the U.S. and the formation of a criminal gang.
Andrew and Tristan have adamantly denied these charges, and Andrew has told his followers the investigation is a political hoax intended to silence his voice. They were ordered not to leave Romania.
A controversial albeit popular figure online, Tate is best-known for his openly misogynistic rhetoric and for flaunting his seemingly wealthy lifestyle, complete with luxury cars, private jets and designer clothing.
He’s been banned from numerous social media platforms over claims that his videos spread hateful messaging to his millions of followers, a large subset of whom were minors.
However, on X (formerly Twitter) — where his account is still active and boasts 8.9 million followers — Andrew appeared to comment on the U.K. arrest warrant as news was breaking.
“The Matrix is afraid, but I only fear God,” he wrote.
The “Matrix” is commonly used in Andrew’s self-directed lore and is in reference to the 1999 movie of the same name. Andrew has often used comparisons to The Matrix to imply that most of the general public has been brainwashed and is unable to think freely.
McCue Jury & Partners, the law firm representing the four British accusers, told The Associated Press they had urged British police to “immediately seek a warrant” for Andrew’s detention and extradition after they received information last week that he might be planning to flee Romania.
The Bedfordshire Police, which ordered the arrest warrant, said they “understand this is a distressing subject, and people may be impacted by what they are seeing in the news.”
Meanwhile, a lawyer for the Tates told the BBC, “We appreciate the Bucharest Court of Appeal’s decision to postpone the extradition of Andrew and Tristan Tate.”
The brothers are still awaiting trial over the 2022 Romanian sex trafficking allegations. Many of the details surrounding the case are confidential. The Tates were arrested in Romania alongside two women, who also maintain their innocence in the matter.
A trial date has not been established.
Who is Andrew Tate?
Andrew, a former professional kickboxer, rose to social media fame for his showy displays of wealth and claims that he could teach young men how to become an “alpha male.”
His brazen misogyny has always made Andrew a polarizing figure online, but his platform grew when he appeared as a contestant on the British version of reality TV show Big Brother in 2016. Tate was removed from the competition after a video of him surfaced in which he can be seen attacking a woman with a belt. Both Andrew and the woman in the video have since said the act was consensual.
In the years afterward, Andrew became an idolized figure to some men who admired his anti-feminist messaging.
Among his more famous quotes, Andrew has said it is impossible to be a realist, as he claims to be, while also believing in gender equality. He once had his X account deactivated for saying that women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted, though his account has since been reinstated.
Andrew told the BBC in 2023 that he has not harmed young people with his misogynistic views but is rather “acting under the instruction of God to do good things.”
He used to run a now-defunct online coaching course, called Hustlers University, where he advertised teaching men various pickup techniques for a fee.
Prior to his arrests, Andrew claimed to be a “self-made multi-millionaire” as a result of running an adult entertainment webcam business that would see women allegedly working for him, livestreaming explicit content.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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