Far-right influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate have left Romania, where they’ve been held for the past several years on rape and human trafficking charges, for the United States, The New York Times reports.
Joseph McBride, a lawyer for the brothers, confirmed their impending return to the U.S. He said they left Romania early morning local time Thursday, Feb. 27, and would be landing in southern Florida. Whether or not they will stay there is unclear; Gov. Ron DeSantis made a statement Thursday morning that he had been unaware the brothers were coming to his state, adding that “Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct.”
The Tates, who are dual U.S. and British citizens, were detained in Romania in 2022 and charged the following year. They, along with two Romanian associates, were accused of forming a trafficking group that misled and transported seven women to Romania, where they were sexually exploited and physically abused. All the defendants have denied the charges against them.
Since then, the case against Tates and their associates has stalled. Last July, a court ruled that the Tate brothers could leave Romania, but not the European Union. And in December, a judge said the case could not go to trial because of various legal and procedural irregularities tied to the prosecution. The decision did not mean the end of the case, but rather put the onus back on investigators and prosecutors to bring forward new evidence to bolster their charges, or amend the indictment.
Despite the setback, and the brothers’ return to the U.S., the investigation in Romania appears to remain open. The country’s anti-organized crime agency DIICOT released a statement Thursday saying they were still pursuing a criminal investigation into two “persons with dual citizenship, American and British.” And while those people were allowed to leave Romania, prosecutors said they would have to “appear before judicial authorities whenever summoned.”
The role President Donald Trump and his administration may have played in the decision to let the Tates leave Romania remains unclear. Earlier this month, The Financial Times reported that top Trump ally, Richard Grenell, raised the issue with a Romanian foreign minister at the Munich Security Conference. On Feb. 12, a couple days before the Munich Security Conference started, Andrew Tate tweeted, “The Tates will be free, Trump is the president. The good old days are back. And they will be better than ever.”
Romanian officials have denied that the U.S. pressured them to lift travel restrictions on the Tates. “In Romania, the judiciary is independent and is the sole authority empowered to make decisions in an ongoing investigation or trial,” Romania’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, McBride, the Tates’ lawyer, said of the the brothers’ return: “Do the math. These guys are on the plane.”
This story has been updated to include Gov. DeSantis’ statement.
From Rolling Stone US
