CNN
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A criminal investigation into online influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan has been opened in Florida, according to the state attorney general Tuesday.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution “to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas,” in what he is calling a “now-active criminal investigation” into the brothers, he said on social media.
In a video posted by a Scripps reporter for CNN affiliate WTXL, Uthmeier says the Tate brothers have “publicly admitted” to what appears to be “preying upon women” around the world.
“People can spin or defend however they want, but in Florida, this type of behavior is viewed as atrocious,” he said in the video. “They chose to come here and set their feet down in this state and we’re going to pursue every tool we have within our legal authority to hold them accountable.”
A spokesperson for the brothers had no comment when reached by CNN Tuesday.
Andrew Tate took to X to say he was “disappointed” by the development, after he and his brother were allowed to leave Romania last week following their arrest in 2022.
“Insanity,” his post reads. “I am super disappointed in the United States. This isn’t the America I know. This is a sad sad day for America. Trying to find crimes on an innocent man.”
Tate, who has been accused of peddling hateful views online and making his controversial lifestyle appealing to young and vulnerable audiences, is a US-born professional fighter-turned-media personality who has racked up billions of views online with his rants about male dominance, female submission and wealth.
He first gained notoriety in 2016 when he was removed from the British version of reality TV show “Big Brother” after video emerged that appeared to show him attacking a woman with a belt.
In the years since, he has become a divisive online content creator who was at one point suspended from all major social media platforms.
In 2017, Tate was banned from Twitter – now known as X – for saying that women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted. In August 2022, he was banned by Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for violating their policies, Britain’s PA Media news agency reported.
Following tech billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter in 2022, Tate was reinstated on the platform. As of March 2025, he has more than 10 million followers on X.
The two brothers arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last week after being allowed to leave Romania, where the pair were arrested in December 2022, CNN previously reported.
The brothers, who are dual US and UK nationals, had previously been banned from leaving Romania after being charged with offenses including human trafficking and forming an organized criminal gang – allegations they deny.
The pair are also being investigated by UK authorities, where they have also denied wrongdoing. After the Crown Prosecution investigated allegations of rape against Andrew Tate and declined to prosecute, Bedfordshire Police said they obtained a European arrest warrant for the brothers “as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of rape and human trafficking” and is seeking their extradition.
Their case remains ongoing, and no charges have been filed. Four women have also accused Andrew Tate of rape and have filed a civil case against him. He has denied the allegations.
Speaking to the media outside Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida on Thursday after landing, Andrew Tate said: “I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood. There’s a lot of opinions about us – all the things that go around about us on the internet.”
He added that “it’s supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, as my brother and I are.”
In a statement, Romanian prosecutors stressed that only the travel restrictions had been lifted, while “all other obligations remain in effect, including the requirement to appear before judicial authorities whenever summoned.” Prosecutors expect their return on March 24 for their next court appearance.
Last month, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that US President Donald Trump’s administration had pressed Romanian authorities to lift travel restrictions on Tate, first in a phone call, then when Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell met Romania’s Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
Hurezeanu later confirmed that he had discussed the Tate brothers with US officials but said he had not been pressured to lift restrictions on them. White House officials said Thursday there was no direct US government role in bringing the Tates to Florida.
The decision to lift travel restrictions has been broadly criticized by politicians in Romania.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis had previously suggested that the Tate brothers are not welcome in his state.
At a news conference, DeSantis said, “Florida is not a place where you are welcome with that type of conduct.”
CNN’s Sophie Tanno, Amy Croffey, Christian Edwards, James Legge, Catherine Nicholls and Emmanuel Miculita contributed to this report.