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 in Miami on Saturday as British authorities sought their extradition on charges of rape and sex trafficking.

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The brothers were taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service under a sealed arrest warrant, agency spokesperson Brady McCarron told the Associated Press, putting the United States at the heart of an international legal saga stretching from Romania to the United Kingdom.

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

2022 arrest of Tate brothers in Romania

The brothers, who hold dual U.S. and British citizenship, moved to Romania in 2016. They were arrested there in 2022, accused of involvement in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation. They rejected those allegations and the Romanian case stalled because of legal and procedural issues.

Last year they were allowed to leave Romania and flew to Florida on a private jet.

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

The outstanding charges in the United Kingdom accuse the brothers of abusing women in an area north of London, where they grew up. The brothers deny the allegations, according to their lawyers.

Joseph McBride, a lawyer representing the Tate brothers, said in a telephone interview on Saturday evening that he had not been able to speak to his clients, but described the new charges from the United Kingdom as “filth and slander” intended to derail defamation lawsuits the brothers have filed in the United States.

“They are doing everything they can to make sure these men never get their day in court,” McBride said.

“We are confident that once a competent judge sees the facts, and once the Department of Justice confronts this flagrant abuse of its authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will be free again. America does not do the United Kingdom’s political dirty work.”

How the Tate brothers rose to fame

Andrew Tate, 39, first came to wider public attention as a contestant on the British reality show “Big Brother” in 2016. He was removed from the show after a video emerged that appeared to show Tate assaulting a woman. He and his brother Tristan Tate, 38, are staunch supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Andrew Tate has amassed more than 10 million followers on X, but he has been banned from platforms including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram for violating hate-speech guidelines. His most widely condemned rhetoric includes comments suggesting that women who suffer sexual assault should bear some responsibility for the attacks, graphic descriptions of how he could assault women, and attacks on people seeking treatment for mental illness.

The Tate brothers have consistently denied allegations of abuse and human trafficking, arguing that their violent and misogynistic statements were taken out of context or meant as jokes.

In a statement on Saturday, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service said that, in addition to charges against the brothers announced publicly in 2025, relating to alleged crimes against three women, it was bringing a total of 38 new charges relating to “four further victims.”

Both brothers have been charged with rape and human trafficking. Andrew Tate faces an additional charge of exploiting prostitution as well as 19 other counts for offences relating to indecent images of children and extreme pornography, according to UK authorities.

In a statement, Karena Thomas, deputy chief constable of Bedfordshire Police, which investigated the case, said “There is no place for male violence against women and girls, and we will continue to work tirelessly to support victims and investigate every report made to us.”