Florida, Meet Your Newest Problem: The Tate Brothers Have Arrived

Right-wing social media influencers and self-proclaimed misogynists Andrew and Tristan Tate have arrived in the United States after a two-year travel ban in Romania for human trafficking and rape charges. 

The travel ban is lifted just in time for President Trump to take office — of whom the brothers are major supporters. 

In Romania, the Tates — who have millions of online followers — are accused of human trafficking and forming an organized group to sexually exploit women. In the US, they face a civil case from a woman who claims the brothers coerced her into sex work before defaming her for giving evidence to Romanian authorities. 

Their exit has raised concerns from Andrew’s accusers that Romanian prosecutors felt political pressure from the Trump administration — where they have ties and allies. Paul Ingrassia was one of Tate’s lawyers in a defamation case they filed against one of their alleged victims and now works as a new White House liaison to the US justice department. 

Ingrassia also takes credit for getting the influencer onto the former Fox News host, Tucker Carlson’s show, where he appeared as a guest to discuss all of the ways that women destroy society. 

Multiple other figures in the Trump orbit have spoken on behalf of the Romanian brothers — Donald Trump Jr., for instance, once called their detention in Romania “absolute insanity,” Elon Musk backed Tate’s criticism of the U.K., writing, “he’s not wrong,” and a lawyer representing the Tates in a defamation case, Joseph McBride, said in a statement that the Tates “feel secure in America for several reasons. The primary one being that Donald Trump is the president.” 

When Trump was asked about the brothers’ arrival at the White House Thursday, Trump replied, “I know nothing about that.”

Andrew, of course, believes that he and his brother are “largely misunderstood,” as do many of their followers who admire them for their advice on topics like business and masculinity. 

But his business dealings are precisely the thing that has gotten him into the trouble he’s scrutinized for. For instance, the 2023 prosecutors’ file allegedly contained transcriptions of audio messages from 2020 of Tristan Tate saying the following of women whose adult content they managed: 

“I don’t want to tell them that they have OnlyFans, I want that money to be used by me and you [Andrew], screw them… Mainly I’m going to slave these bitches… I’m going to make them work even more hours and hours… I work these bitches like slaves… Slave work.”

And then there’s the War Room — which members pay $8,000 a year to join — a network of “powerful men and those who want to learn from them.” In an investigation conducted by journalist Matt Shea for BBC, leaked chats expose the War Room “PhD” (Pimpin’ Hoes Degree) course for what it actually is: a course on coercing and grooming women into sex work. 

“One hundred Tate fans flew from all over the world to try to join,” Shea reported. “And when they got there, they were presented with something called ‘The Test’ — in three days, you’ll be given the option to fight a professional MMA fighter in an actual cage-fighting octagon in the Romanian mountains.” 

The BBC spoke to a pair of women who asserted they were exploited by War Room members and despite living across the world from one another, their stories indicate the men followed the same playbook.

“Both women said they initially believed they were in a romantic relationship with these men — who then began gradually manipulating them into sex work, a strategy known as the ‘loverboy method,’ BBC reported. 

According to leaked chats, the group’s members seem to think they are performing “Pavlovian conditioning” on the women they physically abuse. “This is how you train dogs,” a message read. 

Yes — these are the guys who arrived at Fort Lauderdale via private jet on Thursday. Soon after, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced at a press conference that Andrew Tate was not welcome in the state — “The reality is, is no, Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct. And I don’t know how it came to this.” 

Trump allies have expressed discontent with the sentiment.

“It’s a free country. It is what it is,” Michael Thompson, chair of the Lee County, Florida, GOP said. “I think if people in Tallahassee are going to start asking people to fill out an application before they move to Florida, you know I think they’ve got another thing coming.” 

But DeSantis isn’t the only Republican taking issue with the Tate brothers’ return. 

“I would hope our government wasn’t involved in any way,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Huffington Post. “I don’t think conservatives should be glorifying this guy at all.” 

But beyond the political squabbles, the bigger question remains: What happens next?

With multiple pending cases spanning Romania, the U.K., and the US, the Tate brothers have arrived in Florida, leaving behind a trail of accusations, investigations and alleged victims still awaiting justice.