Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate must stay in jail as they fight their extradition to the UK to face rape and sex trafficking charges, a US judge has ruled.
A bid by the brothers’ defence team to secure their release on bail was rejected by magistrate Lauren Louis.
It means the controversial pair will remain behind bars in Miami during what could be a lengthy legal process aimed at securing their removal to Britain.
The judge said the Tates “have failed to meet their burden to demonstrate that they do not present a risk of flight or danger to the community, or that special circumstances warrant their release”.
She added: “Respondents have failed to demonstrate that special circumstances here warrant relief, whether their proposed special circumstances are considered singly or together.
“Having failed to meet these three factors, respondents’ motion for release pending extradition proceedings is denied.”
The former professional kickboxers, who hold dual US and British citizenship, have been held in custody since their arrest in July.
They were detained after more charges were brought against them by UK prosecutors.
The brothers’ lawyer, Joe McBride, said in a statement that he “profoundly” disagreed with the decision to keep his clients in custody.
He added: “They have not been convicted of a crime. They have not been ordered extradited.”
He went on: “The cruelty is simple. Britain gets 60 days to build its case while Andrew and Tristan rot in a federal jail. The process is the punishment.
“Andrew and Tristan lose their liberty first and challenge the evidence later. This is the cold machinery of extradition. Rules and deadlines move forward with deliberate indifference to the human lives caught inside them.
“By the time the merits are heard, more than 60 days of liberty may already be gone without a finding of guilt or a judgment of extradition. No later victory can give that time back.”
The Tates are deeply divisive figures, who have built a massive online following – mainly among young men and boys – to which they have been accused of promoting misogyny and toxic masculinity.
During a court hearing last month, the Tates maintained their innocence and argued their brash online personas were characters and not their true personalities.
They said their claims of wealth were largely exaggerated to bolster their social media presence and that luxury items such as the 50 million dollar yacht or 2.1 million dollar Aston Martin car seen in their videos did not belong to them.
Their lawyers had previously argued their clients’ “extraordinary notoriety and recognisability” would make it very difficult for them to flee if freed pending extradition proceedings.
They also said the UK’s request was out of order because of an existing criminal case in Romania, which last week saw the brothers accused of additional trafficking and sex crime offences.
In July, Andrew Tate, 39, was charged by the British authorities with seven further 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, was charged with one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the 38 additional charges, in addition to 21 existing charges, relate to alleged offences between July 2010 and August 2017.
The brothers have denied any wrongdoing.
Share