Tate brothers back in Romania to fight 'garbage' human trafficking allegations
March 22 (UPI) -- British-American influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan returned to Romania aboard a private jet from Miami, where they face human trafficking and other charges.
Andrew Tate, 38, and Tristan Tate, 36, landed at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport early Saturday local time. They had flown in the United States on Feb. 27 after Romanian prosecutors lifted a two-year travel ban following of their arrests in December 2022.
Speaking to reporters Saturday outside his residence in Bucharest, Andrew Tate said "anyone who believed any of this garbage has a particularly low IQ."
"After all we've been through, we truly deserve the day in court where it is stated that we've done nothing wrong and that we should have never been in court in the first place," Andrew Tate said. "We should have never gone to jail. We should have never had our assets seized. We should have never had our names slandered.
Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer with 10.8 million followers on X, posted a picture with his brother to the social media platform from the flight, writing that "innocent men don't run. THEY CLEAR THEIR NAME IN COURT."
Romanian prosecutors said the brothers are "under judicial control" and must regularly report to the authorities, with the first check-in scheduled for Monday.
The brothers are accused of human trafficking and forming an organized group to sexually exploit women in Romania. Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed "misogynist" who claims to have made millions from social media despite being previously banned from platforms for his views, also is accused of rape.
In addition, they are the targets of a separate investigation in Britain into allegations of rape and human trafficking.
In the United States, a woman in a civil suit also alleges the brothers coerced her into sex work, and then defamed her after she gave evidence to Romanian authorities. They have denied the allegations.
After they arrived in Florida, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said the state has "zero tolerance for people who abuse women and girls." He announced an active criminal investigation into the brothers, led by the Office of Statewide Prosecution.
UltraViolet, a female-led gender-justice organization, has launched an advertising campaign against the Tates, accusing President Donald Trump of facilitating them to come to the United States.
Trump has said he didn't know anything about the release of the brothers, who are Trump supporters.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said of the Tate brothers arrival in the state last month that "the reality is, Florida is not a place where you are welcome, with that type of conduct in the air.
"I found out through the media that this was something that was happening," he said at the time.
The Tates' attorney, Joseph McBride, blasted UltraViolet's campaign in a statement to the Miami Herald.
"Feminism is a cancer that is responsible for the breakdown of the natural family, the rearing of pathetic men, and the genocide of children in the womb," McBride said in the statement. "The fact these losers want to jail Andrew and Tristan Tate for preaching their version of traditional masculinity highlights the fact that these fascist feminists are fragile weaklings incapable of defending their position in the free marketplace of ideas. Long live the First Amendment."
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