Andrew and Tristan Tate must remain in custody as they fight UK extradition, a US judge rules

By Jonny Hallam, Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — Online influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate must remain in custody in the US while they fight extradition to the United Kingdom to face rape and human trafficking charges, a federal judge in Miami ruled Wednesday.

The written ruling from Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis came after an hourslong August 27 hearing where the brothers asked for bail – a hearing that marked the first time the Tates had been seen in public since July after weeks in separate cells at the Federal Detention Center in Miami.

The Tate brothers “failed to meet their burden to demonstrate that they do not present a risk of flight or danger to the community, or that special circumstances warrant their release,” Louis wrote in Wednesday’s ruling.

The former kickboxers, who have dual US and British citizenship, were arrested in late July in Miami and have remained there while a judge decides on the request for their extradition to Britain to face rape charges.

The UK charges include allegations of rape and human trafficking involving a total of seven victims. Andrew Tate faces 42 charges and Tristan Tate 17, according to prosecutors. Among the additional counts against Andrew are allegations of making or distributing indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography.

Neither Andrew nor Tristan has formally answered the charges in court, but they have repeatedly denied the allegations.

The Tates’ attorney in the US, Joe McBride, intends to talk to his clients about whether to appeal Louis’ decision, he told CNN.

“We profoundly disagree with Judge Louis’ decision to keep Andrew and Tristan in federal custody,” McBride said, in part, in a statement posted online after Wednesday’s ruling. “Release would acquit them of nothing. It would simply allow them to prepare their defense.”

“Detention first. Evidence later, maybe,” McBride said in a separate post on X. “Every burden in that courtroom falls on Andrew and Tristan. None of it falls on the government that wants Andrew and Tristan handed over. Two American citizens, on American soil, ordered to prove a negative against a case that does not yet exist on paper.”

At their first public appearance in weeks, the Tate brothers entered a courtroom on August 27 in shackles and matching tan jail jumpsuits, surrounded by four US marshals. They asked to be released on bail until the extradition matter is resolved.

After hours of argument that at times grew tense, the August hearing ended without a bail ruling from Louis, and the Tates were returned to jail.

In a move described by their attorneys as “highly unusual,” the Tate brothers both took the stand to testify on their own behalf.

“I want to fight the case against me and I can’t do it being here,” Tristan Tate told the court. “I can’t speak to my Romanian lawyer. I need to clear my name.”

Romanian prosecutors in early September indicted Andrew Tate on suspicion of trafficking minors, money laundering, sex with a minor and witness tampering, and his brother Tristan for complicity – the culmination of a yearslong investigation, according to US Attorney’s Office filings to the Miami court.

The brothers have been under criminal investigation in Romania on charges including human trafficking since December 2022.

The Tate brothers, who openly describe themselves as misogynists, built a global following by promoting a lavish, hypermasculine lifestyle through their social media empire.

Prosecutors have cited years of social media posts in which the brothers boasted about their wealth and multiple passports, arguing the posts demonstrated an ability to evade authorities if released. However, their defense lawyers argued the UK allegations are years old, have not resulted in convictions, and that their claims to be wealthy were exaggerated to promote online businesses and to generate attention.

After years of legal proceedings in the United Kingdom and Romania, the Tates were arrested in Miami by US Marshals on July 18 on provisional arrest warrants requested by Britain.

UK authorities have until September 16 to deliver the formal extradition request to the State Department. No date for an extradition hearing has been set.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Alea Motwane and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.