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President Trump reportedly won't stop the Tate brothers from being extradited
Andrew and Tristan Tate have cultivated a close association with President Donald Trump and his political movement over the years as key figures in the “manosphere”: a collection of male-dominated online communities that promote anti-feminism, extreme misogyny, and narrow definitions of traditional masculinity. That ideological alliance, however, won’t be enough to have Trump rescue them from extradition to the UK.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday that President Trump has no plans to intervene in the Tate brothers’ extradition proceedings, bringing an end to speculation that the President would use his influence to keep them in the United States.
The controversial brothers were arrested in Miami, Florida on Saturday, July 19 by US Marshals on a UK extradition warrant and are facing charges of rape, sex trafficking, and related offenses in the United Kingdom. The arrest of the pair came after British prosecutors filed 38 new charges against them that they allege occurred between 2010 and 2017 in the area north of London where the brothers grew up.
They have denied all allegations despite charges being handed down in two different European countries in Romania and England.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed President Trump will not intervene in the Tate brothers’ extradition to the UK
“No. We’ve already answered that question,” Leavitt said on Thursday when asked by a reporter if Trump or his administration planned to intervene in the case.
Joseph McBride, the attorney for the Tates, pushed back on the significance of Leavitt’s comments in a statement to TMZ:
“Ms. Leavitt is great, but she is not the President or the Secretary of State. There is no extradition without the Secretary of State’s signature. Until that signature exists, it’s all commentary.”
McBride has previously argued that the brothers are not a flight risk and have complied fully with both their Romanian human trafficking case and their Palm Beach defamation case over the past three years. He says those special circumstances should factor into any extradition ruling.
If extradited and convicted on even a fraction of the UK charges, both brothers face the possibility of life imprisonment under English law. Since their arrest and while they await their extradition, they are being held at FCI Miami, a low security federal correctional institution in Miami-Dade County.