Tate brothers remain in jail at least two more weeks as they fight extradition

Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will remain in jail at least two more weeks until their next hearing as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, a federal judge said.

US magistrate Lauren Louis set a detention hearing for August 13 to determine whether the Tates should stay in jail or be released during what could be a months-long extradition process.

The Tates were not in court on Monday or required to be there and have remained in jail since making a brief court appearance two days after their July 18 arrest.

The Tates promote wealth, male dominance and misogyny through their social media empire and are among the world’s most polarising internet personalities.

The former professional kickboxers, who have dual US and UK citizenship, have millions of social media followers and are vocal supporters of US President Donald Trump.

The White House has said the brothers should not expect any help from the president. Asked on Thursday whether the White House would intervene in the extradition process, press secretary Karoline Leavitt flatly rejected the idea.

The Tates’ attorney, Joseph McBride, said after last week’s hearing that they should remain in the US.

“We are of course objecting to extradition because Andrew and Tristan are innocent,” Mr McBride said. “They’ve never done nothing wrong. They shouldn’t be extradited for crimes they did not commit.”

Mr McBride said the extradition attempt is politically motivated and suggested the case involved former British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to step down, though he provided no details.

Prosecutors in Britain said the new charges relate to four new accusers and were brought after authorities received evidence from police in Bedfordshire.

The allegations, which span from 2010 to 2017, include rape, assault, trafficking and offences relating to “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography”.

Mr McBride said none of the latest accusers have been identified.

The brothers are already charged with rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain relating to three other accusers in the UK between 2012 and 2015.

The new allegations are the latest in a long-running international legal saga involving the Tates that has spanned the US, Britain and Romania.

The brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

The brothers moved to Romania in 2016 and were arrested there in 2022, accused of participating in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation.

They denied those allegations, and the Romanian case has not gone forward because of legal and procedural problems.

Travel restrictions were lifted last year, and they flew to Florida.

Andrew Tate, 39, became known a decade ago when he was a contestant on the UK reality television show Big Brother. He was booted from the show when a video appeared to show him assaulting a woman.

He has amassed more than 10 million followers on X but has been banned from other platforms, including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, for violating hate speech guidelines.

He has made widely condemned comments, such as saying women who are sexually assaulted should bear some responsibility for the attacks and sharing graphic descriptions of how he might attack women.

The Tate brothers have consistently denied allegations of abuse and human trafficking, claiming their violent and misogynistic statements have been taken out of context or were intended as jokes.