In Bucharest and London
British-American influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate are on trial in Romania on charges including human trafficking after Romanian prosecutors lifted a two-year travel ban – have arrived in the United States.
Andrew, 38, and his brother Tristan, 36, strongly deny allegations against them. The pair left Bucharest on a private jet early Thursday, and arrived in Florida hours later, when Andrew told reporters that he was “misunderstood.”
Romanian prosecutors emphasized that the cases against them had not been dropped and remained “under judicial control.” This means that they have to report to the authorities regularly and are expected to return to Romania.
But their exits sparked concerns that prosecutors felt political pressure from the Trump administration. The US president said he had no idea about the release of the Tate brothers from Romania.
The Tate Brothers are accused of human trafficking and forming organised groups to sexually exploit Romanian women. Andrew Tate is also accused of rape.
In the US, they also faced civil lawsuits from a woman who allegedly forced her into sexual work, slandering her after she gave evidence to Romanian authorities.
The brothers also face separate charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK. They deny all allegations against them.
Upon arrival, Andrew Tate told reporters:
“There’s a lot of opinions about us. There’s a lot of things that have been around about us on the internet about us,” he said, adding that they have “not yet been convicted of a crime in our lives.”
The brothers refused to answer questions about their release and Trump’s role they were allowed to play in the United States.
Joseph McBride, the Tate brothers’ lawyer, said he would return to the United States before returning to Romania at the end of March to meet prosecutors.
“They feel safe in America for a number of reasons. The main thing is that Donald Trump is president, and as a result, they are excited to call America home again,” McBride said in a statement.
Speaking at the White House after the plane landed, Trump said he had no idea about the Tate brothers being released from Romania.
Asked whether his administration had pressured the Romanian government to release them, he said: “I don’t know anything about it. I don’t know, are you saying he’s on the plane now?”
British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer, sitting next to Trump in the White House, said, “There’s an English element here, so obviously important justice is done, and human trafficking is clearly a security risk to my heart.”
On Thursday, the brothers arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida around 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT) and were seen equipped with aircraft.
Their arrival follows comments by the Trump administration’s numbers earlier this month.
Tates regularly posts messages in support of Trump, with Tristan Tate saying that his brother’s role in persuading “millions of young men” to back him up can’t be overlooked.
The Romanian Foreign Minister also told Romanian TV that Trump’s special mission raised his brother during a conversation at the Munich Security Conference held in Germany two weeks ago.
Emil Houretzánu said his argument with Richard Grenell was informal and that he did not consider the “form of pressure” approach. Grenell told the Financial Times that his support for the brothers was evident from his “published tweets.”
However, the woman who brought sexual abuse allegations against Tate Brothers said she was “very concerned” last week about a report that US officials asked Romania to ease travel restrictions for men.
Andrew Tate is a self-descript misogyny that has attracted millions of followers online, despite previously being banned from social media platforms to express his views.
He and his brother were first arrested in Romania in December 2022, with Andrew being charged with rape and trafficking and Tristan being trafficked.
They both denied the charges and spent several months under house arrest. A year later, in August 2024, they faced new allegations involving sex between minors and minors of human trafficking.
Former kickboxer Andrew, who appeared on the British TV show Big Brother, moved from the UK to Romania a few years ago. However, police in Bedfordshire are still seeking separate and unrelated allegations of rape and human trafficking, as well as his extradition involving tax evasion.
In the UK, four British women filed a civil suit against Andrew Tate in the UK High Court, claiming that he raped them and forced them to control them. Tate denies all allegations against him.
These plaintiffs said he was clearly not facing criminal prosecution in Romania and called on British authorities to take action.
“We feel distrustful and rebellious against the news that Romanian authorities have put pressure on Andrew Tate to allow him to travel to Europe and the United States,” the woman said in a statement.
Six months after the controversial cancellation, Elena Lasconi, running for Romanian presidency in the May election, called for the immediate resignation of the chief of Romanian Organized Crime Investigation, Dicott.
“I’m furious!” she wrote on social media, “as a woman, a human, a Romanian.” Lasconi said prosecutors should publicly explain whether their decision was made as a result of external pressure.
DIICOT prosecutors emphasize that the judicial conditions of the brothers have not changed.
These malicious violations of obligations “may lead to substituting a higher measure of deprivation of judicial governance,” he said in a Romanian statement.
Following the successful court appeal on Wednesday, the brothers also returned them multiple assets seized by the authorities, including six properties, six cars and a frozen bank account.
This said the court restrictions were “modified to allow the brothers to travel to America.”
Tate is understood to need to return to Bucharest at the end of March to meet the prosecutor’s term, but it is too early to say whether they will follow them or not.
Romania is a member of the European Union and a major NATO member in the east side of the Western Union. There is an extradition treaty with the United States.
The Trump senior figures put Bucharest’s government in sight over a court ruling that overridden the presidential election last December. Romania’s intelligence agency said it was supported by a gust of winds in the Tiktok account, which was designed by far-right candidate Karin Georgek.
Georgek was charged on Wednesday for attempting to “incite to act against constitutional orders.” He denied fraud and previously called the abolition of elections a “formal coup.” Prosecutors are still investigating election fraud allegations.
