Former kickboxer Andrew Tate, 38, challenged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis via social media on Friday after Tate and his brother became the subjects of a criminal investigation in the state.

This week, Tate posted several messages on social media daring DeSantis to arrest him, calling the governor a “communist who attacks American citizens for zero.”

“Find probable cause and arrest me,” Tate wrote. “Tell that weak little twig AG to stop pretending he’s a man on the news and come arrest me. Then charge me with a crime.”

Last week, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that he had directed his office to work with law enforcement to conduct a preliminary inquiry into Tate and his brother, 36-year-old Tristan Tate.

“Based on a thorough review of the evidence, I’ve directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers,” Uthmeier said.

The brothers — who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and the U.K. — landed in Fort Lauderdale late last month.

The pair had been arrested in 2022 and indicted last year on charges that they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to Romania, where those women were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape, though both brothers continue to deny the allegations.

In December, a court ruled that the case could not go to trial because of multiple legal and procedural irregularities on the part of the prosecutors. The case, however, remained open, and there is also another ongoing investigation against them in Romania.

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Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, said in a statement Thursday that prosecutors approved a request to change the travel restrictions on the Tates, but it did not say who made the request.

The brothers are still required to appear before judicial authorities when summoned.

But after the brothers touched down in Florida last month, DeSantis told reporters that the duo wasn’t welcome.

“Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct,” DeSantis said.

Andrew Tate later expressed disappointment for what he claimed was DeSantis caving to media pressure.

“I don’t know why Ron’s answer wasn’t, ‘He has an American passport. The judicial system in Romania, which I know absolutely nothing about, decided to let him fly, and he’s flown to his home country. As far as we’re concerned, he’s broken no laws,’” Tate said on a podcast following his return. “Instead, what he did was say: ‘We’re going to get our attorney general to try and find some laws he’s broken and wreck this man who’s done nothing inside of the United States ever.’”

Andrew Tate, 38, is a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who has amassed more than 10 million followers on X.

He is also a hugely successful social media figure, attracting millions of followers, many of them young men and schoolchildren who were drawn in by the luxurious lifestyle the influencer projects online.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.