Controversial influencers and sex offenders, Andrew and Tristan Tate, were arrested on Saturday in Miami. The brothers’ arrest comes as British authorities seek their extradition to the UK on charges of rape and sex trafficking.
Details
As per a report by the Associated Press, the brothers were taken into custody by the US Marshals Service under a sealed arrest warrant.
Following this, UK prosecutors announced they are seeking the extradition of Andrew and Tristan, who have been accused of rape and trafficking women between 2010 and 2017.
The duo were last arrested in 2022 in Romania, where they face separate charges of rape and human trafficking. Both Andrew and Tristan have denied the charges and were allowed to leave Romania last year, on a private jet to Florida, US.
Andrew Tate, 39, has been charged with seven counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 19 additional charges for offences relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.
Tristan Tate, 38, has been charged with one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.
UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) added that the Tate brothers were already facing 21 charges for rape, bodily harm and human trafficking.
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Following their arrest, the US Department of Justice stated that Andrew and Tristan were arrested in accordance of the treaties and law enforcement agreements on extraditions.
The US and the UK signed a bilateral treaty in 2003 which governs the extradition rules. As per the US embassy in London, the treaty “simplifies” the process for tackling serious crimes.
Furthermore, for an individual to be extradited, the crime must be considered a punishable offence in both countries, which applies in the case against the Tate brothers.
Despite the pact, a federal court must first determine whether the UK extradition request satisfies the requirements of the 2003 treaty, under which the UK is required to provide “reasonable suspicion” in making an extradition request.
The Tate brothers will also have the opportunity to challenge the request through the American court system.
Joseph McBride, the lawyer for the Tate brothers, has expressed his confidence that both Andrew and Tristan will “walk out free.”
Citing the case in Romania, McBride told CNN that the UK is not allowed to file an extradition request while proceedings are ongoing.
“Those proceedings are ongoing right now. That agreement exists because no nation gets to trample the judicial sovereignty of another for political convenience,” he added further.
As per McBride, the Tate brothers, who are dual citizens of the US and the UK, told reporters that the charges and arrest was “egregious abuse” of authority.
“We are confident that once a competent judge sees the facts, and once the Department of Justice confronts this egregious abuse of its own authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free. America does not do Britain’s political dirty work. Not here. Never,” he added.
