Andrew Tate Detained Again Over Sexual Violence Allegations

Controversial kickboxer turned social media influencer Andrew Tate was detained in Romania for 24 hours on Monday alongside his brother, Tristan Tate, after British authorities issued warrants for his arrest.

Tate has been accused of sexual violence and physical abuse by four women in the U.K. in incidents alleged to have occurred between 2012 and 2015. The 37-year-old's spokesperson Mateea Petrescu told the Associated Press that the Bucharest Court of Appeal would make a "pivotal decision" on Tuesday whether to execute the warrants, which were issued by the Westminster Magistrates Court.

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service initially declined to prosecute Tate when the four alleged victims first reported him, so they instead started a crowdfunding to cover their legal costs in a civil case.

"We handed over our evidence about the horrific acts of violence we endured and waited for action. But four years later we were told the UK authorities would not prosecute him," the campaign page states. "It’s our one remaining route to hold him accountable."

McCue Jury & Partners, the legal firm representing the four women, said in a statement on Tuesday that British authorities had acted after being urged to "immediately seek a warrant" to detain Tate, having after received information that he may be a flight risk in Romania.

"Today’s news is very welcome as it had been a significant concern to many that Tate would seek to avoid justice in Romania and abroad," said managing partner Matthew Jury. "We are grateful to the British authorities for taking our concerns seriously and issuing an arrest warrant. Tate is accused of serious criminal offenses against a large number of victims and he must be held accountable."

Jury noted that since Tate was first arrested in Romania in December 2022, he has "spread a vast amount of disinformation about the criminal charges he faces in the U.K." in high-profile interviews with media figures Tucker Carlson and Piers Morgan.

In charges stemming from that arrest, Tate has been accused of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organized crime group to exploit women, along with his brother and two Romanian women. All four were formally indicted in June, and deny the allegations.

Tate gained a large social media following by promoting far-right ideologies and misogynistic hate speech, before being banned from most platforms prior to his arrest in 2022. After Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter (now X), Tate was reinstated on that platform and now boasts 8.9 million followers. 

Following his detainment, Tate posted on the platform, "The Matrix is afraid, but I only fear God," referring to the term "Matrix" as a supposed conspiracy targeting men.