Judge Delays Decision on Tate Brothers' Bail in US Extradition Case
Tate Brothers Remain in Custody Amid Extradition Proceedings
By Luc Cohen
MIAMI, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will remain in a Miami jail for now as they contest extradition to Britain, where they are wanted on rape charges.
At a hearing in Miami federal court on Thursday, Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis declined to rule immediately on the Tate brothers' request for bail, meaning they will remain in federal custody until she issues her ruling.
The Tates, handcuffed and shackled at the feet, were led out of the courtroom by U.S. marshals.
The brothers were arrested in Miami on July 18 after Britain requested their extradition. The brothers, who have dual U.S. and British citizenship, have denied any wrongdoing.
The former kickboxers have built a large online following promoting their views on masculinity and wealth. Andrew Tate, 39, has previously described himself as a misogynist.
Tates Say They Play Characters Online
Prosecution Arguments
Federal prosecutors argued they would pose a danger to the community if released. After the Tates testified, prosecutor Abbie Waxman showed the court a video of Andrew Tate saying, “slap, slap, grab, choke, shut up bitch, sex.”
"They promote incredible violence against women," Waxman said. "It is not a character, it is who they are."
The Tates recruited dozens of women to work for a webcam pornography business starting in 2014, and later ran online courses called "Hustler's University," prosecutors with the Miami U.S. Attorney's office said in an August 10 court filing.
Defense Testimony
On the witness stand on Thursday, both Tate brothers testified that they were playing characters online when they made crude posts.
"Top G is a caricature," Andrew Tate said, referring to an online moniker that he called a "hyperbolic character."
"I do this to shake men out of apathy," he said.
Tristan Tate, 38, testified that his brother's outlandish comedy "makes him go viral."
"He’s the only person in the world who is judged by a character that he plays," Tristan Tate said.
Andrew Tate's Romantic Partner Testifies
Defense Proposals and Testimony
At the hearing, the brothers wore beige prison garb and sported beards.
The Tates' defense lawyers proposed that Louis release them on the conditions they post bond, surrender their passports and submit to location monitoring.
Earlier on Thursday, the mother of one of Andrew Tate's children, Natasha Sesay, said his sometimes provocative comments online did not reflect who he truly was.
"It’s a very different character between the person that you see online and the person I know," said Sesay, who is expecting another one of his children next month.
Prosecution Cross-Examination
On cross-examination by Waxman, Sesay acknowledged that Andrew Tate paid for her home in Dubai as well as luxury bags, shoes and jewelry.
British Charges Span Seven Years
Extradition Timeline and Legal Process
The legal process for determining whether the Tate brothers may be extradited could take months. Britain has until September 16 to submit its full extradition request to the State Department, U.S. court records show.
The impetus for the brothers' arrests in Miami was new charges brought by Britain's Crown Prosecution Service relating to alleged offenses involving four alleged victims between July 2010 and August 2017.
Previous and Current Charges
They had previously faced rape and human trafficking charges in Britain related to three alleged victims, the CPS said. A British judge issued a warrant for their arrests in 2024. They have not appeared in British court to enter a plea to those charges.
Britain is seeking to extradite the brothers to face both sets of charges.
Reporting and Editing Credits
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in Miami; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Rod Nickel, Nick Zieminski and Kim Coghill)
