It was a welcome to Florida that Andrew Tate was not expecting, far less the warm embrace he believed he was entitled to.
The controversial influencer, an accused rapist and human trafficker, walked straight into a state criminal investigation after descending the steps of the private aircraft that flew him and his brother Tristan from Romania last month, inducing a fit of apoplexy in Tate that appears to be still raging two weeks on.
Since their arrival in the US, the Tates have crisscrossed the country in search of attention elsewhere, popping up in Las Vegas at the weekend at a mixed martial arts festival where they were hugged by a close friend of Donald Trump, and in Los Angeles on Monday, where they preened in the front row of a press conference for the boxer Ryan Garcia.
But their troubles in Florida have never left their mind. Tate’s X account has featured a near constant stream of conspiracy theories and vitriol directed at those he blames for his situation, including Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, and attorney general, James Uthmeier.
DeSantis has said the brothers’ brand of toxic masculinity was “not welcome” in his state, while Uthmeier, who has called their alleged behavior “atrocious”, warned the Tates that “fleeing our jurisdiction will not stop Florida’s ongoing criminal investigation”.
In a post on X, Uthmeier wrote: “We will continue working with our law enforcement and partners around the world to fight human trafficking and sexual abuse”.
Joseph McBride, the Tates’ attorney, told the Guardian in a statement that the Florida investigation was “a weak attempt by a lame-duck governor to hold on to power and an unknown attorney general aiming to build his reputation”, and that Uthmeier’s comments were “malicious and defamatory”.
Both Tates, who are dual US-UK citizens, continue to deny allegations against them in Romania, which include human trafficking, rape of a minor and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Travel restrictions following their 2022 arrest were lifted last month amid speculation of a “secret deal” between prosecutors and the Trump administration.
The US president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, has previously called their detention in Romania “absolute insanity”, while Trump himself denied any knowledge of their release.
The Financial Times reported last month, however, that McBride had lobbied members of Congress to speak up for them; and that the US special envoy Richard Grenell, a Trump acolyte, raised the case with Romania’s foreign minister, Emil Hurezeanu, at the Munich Security Conference in February.
Asked about the president’s influence as he arrived for a podcast recording in Fort Lauderdale last week, Andrew replied: “Trump is such a boss, he is such a gangster. As for Ron [DeSantis], I’m disappointed.”
On Monday, meanwhile, Andrew Tate posted to his 10.8 million followers on X that he was heading back to Florida from California on Tuesday. He challenged authorities to arrest him upon his arrival.
“Every day you don’t arrest me proves you’re clowns talking lies for political points,” he wrote. “Come and get me if I’m guilty and charge me in a court of law.”
The Guardian contacted the Florida attorney general’s office for an update on the investigation, which Uthmeier said on 5 March involved search warrants, subpoenas and the seizure of the Tates’ electronics upon their arrival.
Other than popping up for a couple of podcast appearances, the Tates have kept a relatively low profile since landing in Florida on 27 February and being whisked away by a large security team.
Journalists have been unable to establish where in south Florida they have been staying, or with whom. Their social media feeds have provided a myriad of contradictions, alongside a series of wild attacks on DeSantis, Uthmeier and reposting unfounded claims about a “south Florida Jewish mob” the 38-year-old former kickboxer believes is out to get him.
For example, in a post on 6 March Andrew Tate “thanked” Florida for welcoming him and promised he would “see you in a few years”; later the same day, he announced he had changed his mind and had “bought a Miami penthouse”; and four days after that, he was floating a plan to travel to Jamaica and “hang out” with a little-known fellow “influencer” called Biggs Don.
In between, he announced he was in California and tweeted at the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, to file charges against him.
Andrew Tate, who has become increasingly aligned with Trump in recent years, and his 36-year-old brother, are required to return to Romania to answer bail conditions before the end of this month, which McBride said they would do. After that, Tate said, he plans to become a permanent resident of Florida.
Yet the depth of his fury for what he perceives as persecution by state officials became evident in a podcast he recorded last week with the rightwing host Candace Owens, who like Tate has been previously suspended from social media platforms for extremist content.
“I could have chosen anywhere. I could have gone [to] Thailand, I could have gone [to] Dubai,” he said.
“I thought, ‘You know what, let me go home’. And this is the welcome I get.”
