Despite mounting pressure at the White House, Donald Trump is set to allow the extradition of the Tate brothers to the UK, where they face serious accusations, including rendering women unconscious and committing acts of rape.
Over the weekend, Andrew and Tristan Tate were detained at a bare-knuckle boxing event in Miami. Acting on a British detective request, they were arrested on charges linked to rape, sex trafficking, and distributing indecent images involving minors.
Their arrest has given rise to speculation about potential Trump intervention, given the brothers’ claims of having personal connections with the former President and his family.
However, a U.S. official clarified to the Daily Telegraph, “The White House maintains no involvement or interest in this matter.”
In a move spearheaded by the UK government, efforts to extradite the Tates—who hold dual US-UK citizenship—are underway. The charges span an array of serious offenses involving four women, stretching from July 2010 to August 2017.
The brothers deny all wrongdoing and claim that they are the victims of a political witch hunt, a parting shot by outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The final decision rests with Secretary of State Marco Rubio once the court in Florida has examined the case.
Andrew Tate has been charged with seven further counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 19 additional charges relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.
The British government is seeking extradition of Andrew Tate, right, and his brother Tristan on charges including rape and sex trafficking. They have both denied any wrongdoing
Andrew and Tristan Tate appear before US Magistrate Lauren Louis at a procedural hearing at federal court in Miami, Florida, on Monday
Donald Trump responds to a reporter’s question during a bilateral meeting with president of Lebanon Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday
Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested at a bare-knuckle boxing event in Miami on Saturday at the request of British detectives over charges of rape, sex trafficking and indecent images of a child
Tristan Tate has been charged with one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Their lawyer Joseph McBride suggested that Trump could intervene, claiming the President ‘was elected to fight against this kind of nonsense’ and the Tates had supporters ‘all the way to DC.’
McBride called the UK ‘a fallen state that prosecutes its citizens for free speech.’
One woman, a webcam model, has told investigators that Andrew Tate choked her until she was unconscious and then raped her during an alleged attack at her Bedford home in 2015, the newly unsealed filings state.
A second woman said she slept with Andrew Tate consensually in July 2014, then during a later visit to her Manchester home he choked her until ‘she was afraid Tate was going to kill her,’ the filing said.
Tristan Tate is accused of choking, beating and raping his then girlfriend throughout their relationship in 2012 and 2013, the complaint said.
The woman told authorities he would routinely strangle her until she blacked out, blacken her eye and lash her with a belt, leaving welts and bruises.
The brothers’ lawyers will apply for their release at a hearing on July 27, when a magistrate will decide whether they stay behind bars during the extradition fight.
The Daily Mail revealed last week prior to their arrest that the Tates had met with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill and been hosted at a party by Trump envoy Paolo Zampolli
Joseph McBride, lead counsel for Andrew and Tristan Tate, speaks with reporters outside of the C Clyde Atkins United States Courthouse in Miami, Florida, on Monday
Malcolm McHaffie of the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service said that the ‘charging decisions followed receipt of a further file of evidence from Bedfordshire police and bring the total number of alleged victims in this case to seven.’
Britain and the US are bound by a treaty allowing extradition for alleged offenses that carry at least a year in prison in both countries.
The Daily Mail revealed last week prior to their arrest that the Tates had met with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill and been hosted at a party by Trump envoy Paolo Zampolli.
The brothers are star figures in the so-called manosphere, preaching misogynist and chauvinist views to legions of fans, many of them teenage boys.
As well as the UK, the pair are accused of wrongdoing in the US and Romania.
The brothers sued an accuser for defamation in Florida.
They also remain under investigation in Romania over claims they coerced women into pornography, an unresolved case that carries rape and sexual assault allegations.
The pair have not set foot in the UK since Romania lifted a travel ban last year.
They touched down in Florida in February last year, weeks after a senior Trump official reportedly raised their case with Romanian officials.
Asked at the time if his administration had leaned on Bucharest to free them, the President said: ‘I know nothing about that.’