Influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate arrested in Miami

Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, whose social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the world’s most polarising internet personalities, were arrested on Saturday in Miami as British authorities sought their extradition on rape and sex trafficking charges.

The brothers were taken into custody by the US Marshals Service on a sealed warrant, agency spokesman Brady McCarron said, placing the United States at the centre of an international legal saga that has stretched from Romania to Britain.

British prosecutors announced on Saturday that they were seeking the brothers’ extradition on charges alleging they raped and trafficked women between 2010 and 2017.

The dual US and British citizens moved to Romania in 2016. They were arrested there in 2022, accused of taking part in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation. They denied those allegations and the case did not go forward because of legal and procedural irregularities.

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Influencer Andrew Tate, facing rape charges in 2 countries, parties in Hong Kong

The brothers are expected to appear in Miami’s federal court early next week, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive law enforcement operations.

The pending charges in the United Kingdom accused the brothers of abusing women in an area north of London, where they grew up. Their lawyers had said they denied the allegations.