TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Attorney General announced Tuesday that his office has launched a criminal investigation into Andrew and Tristan Tate.
Attorney General James Usmier announced on social media that he had directed his office to work with law enforcement to conduct a preliminary investigation into the Tate brothers.
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“Based on a thorough review of the evidence, I have directed the prosecutor’s office across the state to execute a search warrant and issue a subpoena in a currently active criminal investigation against the Tate brothers,” Uthmeier said.
After Tates landed at Fort Louderdale on Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that the brothers were not welcome in Florida and that they would look into the attorney general whether the state may have jurisdiction over their alleged crimes.
During his appearance on the PPD podcast on Monday, Andrew Tate said the governor was under media pressure. Tate said he has the right to visit his US passport and his home country. He said he has not broken the law and has never been tested, let alone convicted of the crime.
Tates, a dual-US citizen, was arrested in late 2022 and was officially charged in Romania last year, taking part in a crime ring that invited women to a country where women were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. They deny the allegations.
38-year-old Andrew Tate is a former professional kickboxer and a hugely successful social media figure who attracts millions of followers. Many of them attract many young men and school children who are drawn into the luxurious lifestyles that influencers have portrayed their projects online. He and his 36-year-old brother, Tristan, are supporters of President Donald Trump’s voice.
Andrew Tate was previously banned from Tiktok, YouTube and Facebook for hate speech and his misogynistic comments, including that women should be held liable for sexual assault.
Tates left Romania this month after Trump administration officials said this month that he expressed interest in the brothers’ incident at the recent Munich Security Council.
