Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been arrested by federal law enforcement officials in Miami the U.S. Marshals Service said, in arrests British authorities said were related to additional charges of r@pe.
They were taken into custody on Saturday, July 18.
“We can confirm the arrest of the Tate brothers today in Miami,” it stated. “The warrant was sealed so we are unable to confirm the charges.”
The U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service said it is bringing additional charges of r@pe against Andrew, 39, and Tristan, 38, under ongoing cases against the brothers in that nation.
The agency said the brothers are awaiting extradition to the U.K.
Andrew Tate faces seven additional counts of r@pe, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for s£xual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 19 additional charges relating to illegal child images and pornography, the service said.
Tristan Tate faces one count of s£xual assault, two counts of r@pe and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for s£xual exploitation, it said.
The allegations cover alleged offenses from July 2010 to August 2017, the service said.
Malcolm McHaffie, head of the Special Crime Division at the Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement that the charges come after the agency received a new file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police.
The new charges relate to four additional alleged victims; previous charges were connected to three alleged victims.
The case against Tristan previously included three counts of r@pe, six counts of actual bodily harm and two counts of human trafficking.
Andrew Tate’s case previously included three counts of r@pe, four counts of actual bodily harm, two counts of human trafficking and one count of controlling prostitution for gain.
Joseph D. McBride, a New York City attorney who has been representing the pair in civil litigation, said Saturday that the arrests were an “egregious abuse” of authority by federal officials in the United States.
He said U.K. authorities “conjured up a wave of charges against the Tate brothers” and he predicted the pair would “walk free” before traveling across the Atlantic.
“This is not law enforcement,” he said. “This is a political hit … America does not do Britain’s political dirty work.”
The brothers, both former kickboxers, are often associated with the “manosphere” and they have been accused of embodying toxic masculinity and misogyny.
They are dual U.S. and British citizens and moved to Romania in 2016, but amid a criminal investigation there, they returned to the United States last year.