Florida AG to issue search warrants, subpoenas into Tate brothers

Florida’s attorney general said his office launched a formal investigation into brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate on Tuesday following their arrival in the state after facing human trafficking charges in Romania.

“Last week, I directed my office to work with our law enforcement partners to conduct a preliminary inquiry into Andrew and Tristan Tate,” Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote in a Tuesday post on X. 

“Based on a thorough review of the evidence, I’ve directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers,” he added.

Uthmeier launched a preliminary inquiry into the brothers last week hoping to uncover the reason behind their unexpected trip to Florida. 

“Florida has zero tolerance for human trafficking and violence against women. If any of these alleged crimes trigger Florida jurisdiction, we will hold them accountable,” the attorney general wrote last Thursday on X.

Officials say they were not warned about the arrival of the Tate brothers, who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and United Kingdom.

The two, who have both denied the allegations against them, were previously under Romanian travel restrictions which prevented their movements. Andrew Tate, who was accused of rape, was also under house arrest at one point.

“Florida is not a place where, where you’re welcome with that, with that type of conduct in the air, and I don’t know how it came to this, we were not involved, we were not notified,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told reporters last week.

It’s unclear how long the brothers expect to remain in Florida.