Andrew and Tristan ‘not welcome’ in Florida says governor Ron DeSantis as Tate brothers’ flight lands: Live – UK Times

After Andrew and Tristan Tate arrived in Florida, state attorney general James Uthmeier said in a social media post that his office would conduct a “preliminary inquiry” into them.

“Florida has zero tolerance for human trafficking and violence against women. If any of these alleged crimes trigger Florida jurisdiction, we will hold them accountable,” said Uthmeier, an appointee of Republican governor Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis earlier said the Tate brothers were not welcome in the state. “No, Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct,” he said.

The pair have long been vocal supporters of the US president, and have many supporters of their own in his inner circle.

This includes Paul Ingrassia, Mr Trump’s choice for White House liaison for the Department of Justice, and previously one of the lawyers Andrew Tate hired to fight a human trafficking case. Andrew Tate has also been friends with Donald Trump Jr since 2016, who previously called his detention “absolute insanity”.

Close Trump ally Elon Musk also backed Andrew Tate on Twitter / X recently – the platform that he owns – when he said he wanted to “become the prime minister” of the UK.

“He’s not wrong,” replied Musk, to a video in which Andrew Tate accused the country’s political establishment of being “corrupt” and having “failed people generationally”. Both brothers were also both followed by vice-president JD Vance on the platform in December.

In January, Northern Ireland MP Sorcha Eastwood launched legal action against Andrew Tate and his brother over social media posts.

A lawyer for the Alliance Party MP said the posts were made on Friday, the day after she had told MPs that she was a “survivor of abuse” and had received rape threats.

Kevin Winters of KRW Law said: “We act on behalf of Sorcha Eastwood MP.

“We are instructed to issue legal proceedings against Andrew and Tristan Tate over their continued publication of social media postings on 10 January 2025.

“We can confirm service of correspondence on today’s date to their solicitors. In light of the sensitivities of the issues engaged, we have no further comment at this stage.”

His comments on social media came after Ms Eastwood told the House of Commons that a member of the public “came up and said they wanted to rape me” during a school visit she was leading at Stormont.

A lawyer representing four women who have accused Andrew Tate of rape and coercive control in the UK has said the news is “disgusting and dismaying”.

Matthew Jury, their solicitor at McCue Jury & Partners, said: “The news that pressure by the Trump administration has led to Andrew Tate, and his brother Tristan, being allowed to leave Romania by its authorities is equal parts disgusting and dismaying.”

He added: “The UK government knew this might happen more than a week ago. The fact that nothing seems to have been done to prevent it is concerning. One can only hope action will now be taken.

“Given that Prime Minister Starmer is in the US today to meet with President Trump, perhaps his team may take the opportunity to raise this issue.”

The pair were first arrested by Romanian authorities three years ago, and face trial for on allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. They deny all of the claims.

A separate case against them, in which they are accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, has been sent back to prosecutors.

The brothers, who both hold dual UK-US nationality, are also subject to a European arrest warrant secured by Bedfordshire Police for allegations of rape and human trafficking. Those allegations, which the two brothers “unequivocally deny”, date back to 2012-2015.

Four women have also accused Tate of rape and coercive control and have brought a civil claim against him in the UK.

It is understood that the brothers still remain under investigation and are expected to return to Romania at the end of March. Their lawyer Eugen Vidineac said earlier this year that the brothers remain “dedicated to clearing their names and reputation”.

The law firm representing a woman who has filed a civil claim against the Tate brothers in the US has said the end of his travel ban is a “slap in the face”.

National Center on Sexual Exploitation Senior Vice President and Director of the Law Center Dani Pinter said: “It seems clear the U.S. intervened in Romania to assist the Tate brothers who are being prosecuted for sex trafficking over 35 women including minors. This is a slap in the face to all the victims of the Tate brothers especially the U.S. victim who is not being protected by her country.

“On the same day the Epstein list is to be released, the U.S. government is facilitating American shelter for well-connected predators yet again. How are our memories so short? Epstein was also investigated and prosecuted in 2008 when the DOJ intervened to give him a sweetheart deal. Like Epstein, there is documented evidence the Tate brothers abused minors.

“We will not stop fighting for justice for Jane Doe and all the victims of Andrew and Tristan Tate. We demand the United States investigate and prosecute the Tate brothers for the sexual exploitation of minors abroad and sex trafficking.”

The woman in question, who is an American citizen, has filed the countersuit in Florida, after the Tate brothers filed a lawsuit against her for cooperating with the Romanian authorities.

A spokesperson for the brothers has said that a Romanian court has returned some of their seized assets, including properties and vehicles.

The list of assets they say have been returned includes:

• Five properties and a partial share of another property
• Six cars: an Audi A5, Nissan Murano, Lada 1500, Mercedes-Benz V-Klasse, Audi RS 7 Sportback and a Ferrari 488 GTB
• All previously frozen bank accounts have been unfrozen
• Company shares, including a 100 per cent stake in real-estate company called War Room Vegas

DIICOT, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, said in a statement Thursday that prosecutors approved a “request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania,” but that judicial control measures remained in place. The agency didn’t say who had made the request.

The control measures include the requirement to “appear before judicial authorities whenever summoned,” the statement read.

The agency said the Tates were “warned that deliberately violating these obligations may result in judicial control being replaced with a stricter deprivation of liberty measure.”

Their departure came after Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said this month that a U.S. official in the current Trump administration had expressed interest in the brothers’ legal case in Romania at the Munich Security Conference. The minister insisted it didn’t amount to pressure.

Andrew Tate has said he is “misunderstood” and criticised “media spin” in a statement after landing in the US.

Speaking to reporters outside Fort Lauderdale airport, Florida, alongside his brother, he said: “We live in a democratic society where it’s innocent until proven guilty and I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood.

“There’s a lot of opinions about us, a lot of things that go around about us on the internet.

“We’ve yet to be convicted of any crime in our lives ever, we have no criminal record anywhere on the planet, ever.

“Our case was dismissed on the 19th of December in Romania under the Biden administration, and our prosecutor recently decided, because we have no active indictment in court, to let us go and return.

“This is a democratic society.

“It’s supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, as my brother and I are, and I think it’s extremely important that we stop allowing media spin, wrap up smears, lies, or carefully constructed narratives from George Soros-funded operations trying to destroy the reputations of good people who have no intention to do anything other than follow the law.”