Governor Ron DeSantis: Tate brothers’ conduct not welcome in Florida
Gov. DeSantis said Florida does not welcome the conduct of Andrew and Tristan Tate when they arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after leaving Romania.
Ron DeSantis
- Andrew Tate, a controversial internet personality who has been publicly taunting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, says they’ve reached an understanding
- DeSantis’ communications officer said their position was unchanged.
- Tate and his brother Tristan are under investigation in Romania for alleged human trafficking, rape, and other serious crimes, which they deny.
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Andrew Tate may think he has an understanding with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, but the governor does not.
While talking to the press this week after returning to Romania where he and his brother Tristan are facing accusations of forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sex with a minor and money laundering, the internet “manosphere” personality, masculinity guru and self-proclaimed misogynist said DeSantis realized he made a mistake when he launched an investigation into the brothers.
“I think the governor of Florida was hijacked by the media,” Tate said Monday. “The media jumped on him, and he didn’t realize I was an American citizen, and now he understands he made a mistake.
“And there’s been some conversations, and everything’s been settled and fixed,” he said.
“Nothing of the sort happened, and our position is unchanged,” DeSantis’ communications director Bryan Griffin said in an email Tuesday.
Why did Gov. DeSantis open an investigation against Andrew Tate?
After a court case in Romania failed due to problems with the indictment, a travel ban was lifted and the brothers arrived in Fort Lauderdale last month in a private jet. DeSantis said at a press conference that they were not welcome in the state
“The reality is no, Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct,” he said, and suggested they could be investigated for any crimes committed in Florida.
Andrew Tate and his brother arrive in Florida from Romania
Andrew Tate and his brother arrive in Florida after Romanian prosecutors lifted a travel ban against them, Feb. 27, 2025
Has Andrew Tate committed any crimes in Florida?
In February, a Florida woman listed only as Jane Doe filed a countersuit against Andrew and Tristan Tate in their first U.S. case, alleging sex trafficking by force and/or coercion and other charges after she and other women were lured to Romania. After Romanian authorities raided the brothers’ compound in April 2022 and the women left, the Tates sued her, another woman and some witnesses, saying Doe was “a serial extortionist and blackmailer who preys on successful men.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said just last week that an investigation into any crimes Tate and his brother Tristan may have committed in the state of Florida was still ongoing.
“Every time these guys open their mouths, it gets them deeper in a hole,” Uthmeier said during an appearance on “The Dana Show,” “If we can show that they committed crimes on Florida soil, then we will continue to pursue them, you know, at all costs.”
Andrew Tate vs. Ron DeSantis
DeSantis’ comments kicked off a one-sided beef with Tate steadily taunting the governor for weeks online, saying on X that DeSantis opened a criminal case “for zero reason,” that DeSantis attacked him because he was worried Tate would support gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds over his wife Casey, and jokingly asking Florida to open a criminal case because his brother stole his snacks on the plane.
Tate has also demanded multiple times that DeSantis arrest him.
“Your wife will never win governor unless you arrest me, @GovRonDeSantis,” Tate posted on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this month. “You’ve proven to be a communist who attacks American citizens for zero. When Americans who are unfairly imprisoned abroad return home you betray them. You better nail me now. Let’s go. Arrest me.”
Who is Andrew Tate?
A self-described misogynist and former professional kickboxer who often poses in expensive settings with fast cars and guns, social media influencer Emory Andrew Tate III, 38, has gained millions of fans by promoting an ultra-masculine attitude that critics say denigrates women.
Tate appeared on the 17th season of the British reality show “Big Brother” but was removed in under a week when videos emerged showing him committing violence against women. Vice later reported that the producers dropped him when they became aware of an ongoing rape investigation, which was later dropped.
Tate and his brother Tristan started a webcam studio with up to 75 webcam models, which he later admitted was a scam, according to GQ, and opened several different online schools to encourage teenage boys and young men to focus on making as much money as possible through unconventional, mostly online means. He is currently promoting an upcoming updated version, The Real World 2.0.
Tate’s popularity exploded online due to his increasingly inflammatory statements: claiming women had to take responsibility for being raped, depression isn’t real, Nazis might not have been the bad guys in World War II, women belong to men, and how he would attack a woman who accused him of cheating. In 2022, The Guardian reported that students in his various schools were told to flood social media with his most controversial clips to help boost his content.
Tate has said such comments were jokes or taken out of context.
TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have all blocked his accounts, although he was reinstated on Twitter after Elon Musk bought the social media company, later changing the name to X.
Meanwhile, the brothers are facing a second Romanian criminal case. If they are found not guilty there, they may be extradited to the UK where they face allegations of rape and serious physical and sexual assaults dating back to 2012-2015 and a civil case against them for alleged tax evasion
Contributing: Luiza Ilie, Reuters and Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY
