Two of the most controversial and politically connected influencers in the so-called manosphere were arrested by federal marshals in connection with new rape and sex trafficking charges in the United Kingdom.
Brothers Andrew Tate, 39, and Tristan Tate, 38, whose divisive online brand has reportedly resonated with Barron Trump, were arrested in Miami on Saturday after Bedfordshire Police filed 38 additional charges against them, according to a statement from the British law enforcement agency. The total number of criminal charges against the brothers now stands at 59.
Andrew Tate faces seven additional counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault, and 19 additional charges related to child and extreme pornography, according to a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service.
Tristan Tate is facing three criminal charges relating to sexual assault or rape, and an additional three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The CPS said it is seeking the Tates’ extradition from the United States to the U.K. in connection with the new charges, as well as the original 21 charges, which include rape, bodily harm, and human trafficking. The U.S. Marshals Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
The alleged incidents took place between July 2010 and August 2017, according to the CPS. The new charges coincide with an ongoing investigation into the brothers in Romania, where they previously lived, over alleged sex crimes.
Joseph McBride, an attorney for the Tate brothers, denied wrongdoing in a statement on Saturday.
“The world knows Andrew and Tristan Tate are innocent,” he said of the Tates, self-proclaimed misogynists with millions of followers on social media. “Their enemies know it best of all. That is exactly why they have been attacked.”
McBride also slammed what he described as “a low-level functionary at the Department of Justice” whom he alleged greenlit the brothers’ arrest on Saturday. McBride’s statement appeared to be a direct appeal to some of the most powerful people in and around the Trump administration, several of whom have ties to the Tate brothers.
Vice President JD Vance follows the Tate brothers on X. And no one in Trump’s orbit is more closely associated with the manosphere influencers than his youngest son, 19-year-old Barron Trump. As the investigation into sex trafficking allegations against the Tate brothers unfolded in Romania, Andrew Tate reportedly connected with Barron through Justin Waller, a manosphere influencer who described himself as the Tates’ “third brother” in the recent Netflix documentary Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere.
During the conversation, they reportedly discussed their shared belief that Romanian prosecutors were targeting the Tates as part of an effort to silence them.
Not long afterward, the Tate brothers’ passports were returned by a Romanian official who had recently visited Mar-a-Lago, The New Yorker reported last month.
After Trump was the target of an attempted assassination in the July 2024, Andrew Tate told reporters that he spoke to Barron about the shooting.
“I’m very close with the Trump family. I know them well,” he said at the time. “I look forward to, once I am free, being with Donald Trump in person and reminding him that he’s a bulletproof badass.”
Days before their latest arrest, the Tate brothers spent several days in Washington as guests of Donald Trump’s special envoy, Paolo Zampolli. The political appointee, who introduced Trump to First Lady Melania Trump, also appeared to connect the brothers with a powerful politician during the trip. Texas Congressman Wesley Hunt was photographed posing for photos with the two brothers in his office, the Daily Mail reported.
Regarding their D.C. excursion, the Tates’ attorney issued a chilling statement to the Daily Mail.
“What I will say is this: Washington knows that Andrew and Tristan Tate’s ability to influence the next election is unmatched.”
