Influencers Tates Arrive In US Despite Rape And Trafficking Charges In Romania (Worthy News Investigation)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BUDAPEST/BUCHAREST/FORT LAUDERDALE (Worthy News) – Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who were charged with human trafficking in Romania, arrived Thursday on a private jet in the United States after Romanian authorities lifted travel restrictions on the siblings following questions about the case from U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s administration.

The Tates, who are devoted Trump supporters and have millions of followers online, and two Romanian women were arrested in Bucharest in late 2022.

They were formally indicted last year on charges they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to Romania, where allegedly they were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. All four deny the allegations.

Andrew Tate, 38, a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who has amassed more than 10 million followers on X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and that there is “a political conspiracy” to silence him.

He and Tristan Tate, 36, are vocal supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump. Andrew Tate runs an online academy that teaches young men “how to get rich and attract women.”

He moved to Romania years ago after first starting a webcam business in Britain. The former kickboxer leaped to fame in 2016 when he appeared on the British version of the reality television show Big Brother but was removed after a video emerged that appeared to show him attacking a woman.

Rights activists have described Tate’s views as extremely misogynistic and capable of radicalizing men and boys to commit harm offline. He has been banned from several social media platforms amid concerns about his views and the ongoing criminal investigation.

ROMANIAN PROSECUTION

Romanian authorities said in 2023 that the brothers made at least seven victims adding that Andrew raped at least one of them repeatedly and coerced the women through threats of violence and financial ruin.

The brothers had been held under house arrest on and off since 2022 and were ordered to remain in the country awaiting trial. In 2024, a second indictment was filed that mentioned 35 alleged victims of trafficking, including one who was 15 years old at the time.

Yet a first criminal case failed when the Bucharest court of appeals decided not to start the trial and sent the files back to prosecutors, citing “flaws in the indictment.” In April, another court, the Bucharest Tribunal, ruled that a trial could start but didn’t set a date.

Pending the completion of the ongoing criminal investigation, the Tates were under judicial control, a light preventative measure under which they were required to check in with the police at regular intervals.

However, in a surprise move, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, announced Thursday that prosecutors approved a request “to change the travel restrictions” on the Tates. Still, it did not say who made the request.

That enabled them to effectively flee the country in style, with a private jet awaiting the fashionable-dressed young men. What happened to the two Romanian women arrested with them was unclear.

The Tates flight came shortly after Emil Hurezeanu was asked about their case at the Munich Security Conference by Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell. Well-informed sources said a request was made to return the brothers’ passports and allow them to travel while they wait for court proceedings to conclude.

NO PRESSURE?

Yet the Romanian minister denied the Trump administration had pressured him, but those words did little to convince critics.

Cristi Danilet, a former judge in Romania’s northern city of Cluj, said that any bilateral agreement on lifting the “preventative measure” would be unprecedented. “If it is true, it means that there is no more rule of law and sovereign countries,” he said in published remarks.

On Thursday, U.S. President Trump appeared caught off guard when asked about the sibling’s arrival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, around midday. “I just know nothing about it. We’ll check it out. We’ll let you know,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office at the White House while hosting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

However Starmer rushed to add: “Obviously it involves, there is an English element here. So, obviously, it is important that justice is done. And human trafficking is obviously, to my mind, a security risk.” Starmer referred to the fact that the Tates have double U.S. and British citizenship.

Four British women who accused Andrew Tate of sexual violence and physical abuse are suing him in Britain after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute him.

The women said Thursday in a joint statement that they are “in disbelief and feel re-traumatized” by news that the travel restrictions were lifted.

Matthew Jury, a lawyer with McCue Jury & Partners, which represents the women, called the decision to lift the travel ban “disgusting and dismaying.”

SEXUAL AGGRESSION

In March, the Tate brothers appeared at the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a separate case after British authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression in a case dating back to the period from 2012 to 2015.

The appeals court granted the British request to extradite the Tates only after concluding legal proceedings in Romania.

Late last year, a court in Britain ruled that police could seize more than 2.6 million pounds ($3.3 million) from the pair to cover years of unpaid taxes and freeze some of their accounts.

Andrew Tate called it “outright theft” and said it was “a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system.”

Speaking to reporters at the airport, Andrew Tate repeated his insistence that the siblings had done nothing wrong.

“We live in a democratic society where it’s innocent until proven guilty. And I think my brother and l are largely misunderstood. There’s a lot of opinions about us, things that go around about us on the internet,” he said.

In other developments Thursday, a court ruled in favor of an appeal by the Tates to lift the seizure of multiple assets, according to Tate spokesperson Mateea Petrescu.

LUXURY ITEMS

She said the assets include six luxury vehicles, land and properties, and company shares. All previously frozen bank accounts have been unfrozen.

“While some assets remain under precautionary seizure, this ruling marks a significant step toward justice,” she said.

Yet the rich and famous men aren’t welcome in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis said, adding he regretted the accused sex trafficker’s return.

“We have no involvement in that. I read about it through the media. Clearly, the federal government has jurisdiction,” DeSantis said on Thursday. “Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct.”

DeSantis added that Florida’s attorney general looked into the Tates and the “state hooks and jurisdictions” available to deal with them. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier took to social media on Thursday to announce a “preliminary investigation.”

“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,” Uthmeier said.

But conservative commentator Candace Owens said it was an “utterly deranged thing for a Governor of any state to say. American citizens will NOT be allowed back on American soil, per [Ron DeSantis].”

Yet conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro weighed disagreed. “America does not need more self-proclaimed pimps and terror supporters with outstanding criminal allegations of sex trafficking and a history of pornographic distribution, plus a grift ‘university’ that suckers young men out of thousands of dollars,” he said.

Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.

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