The attorney representing Andrew and Tristan Tate has told the Daily Mail he believes Donald Trump will back the brothers after they were arrested in Florida on a UK extradition warrant.
Joseph McBride claimed the President “hates political persecution and communism,” describing the case against his clients as, in his view, an example of both.
In comments to the Daily Mail, McBride also alleged that the move to pursue the Tates’ extradition to Britain was driven by Sir Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, and was among his final actions before what McBride said would be his resignation on Monday.
His remarks followed the dramatic arrest of Andrew and Tristan Tate by US Marshals in Miami, after the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service announced a fresh slate of charges against them.
According to the CPS, the pending UK charges accuse Andrew, 39, and Tristan, 37, of abusing women between July 2010 and August 2017.
Andrew faces seven additional counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and 19 further charges linked to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography offences.
Tristan is charged with one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape, and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Both brothers have firmly denied any wrongdoing.
Andrew Tate, left, and his brother Tristan, right, were arrested on an extradition request from the UK, where they are facing a combined 59 charges, including rape and human trafficking which they deny
The lawyer for the Tate brothers has told the Daily Mail that Donald Trump will support them, stating: ‘Trump hates political persecution and communism,’ in reference to the actions of the British government
The Tates will be processed at the federal courthouse in Miami on Monday, where officials will unseal the indictment against them, a DOJ source said.
On the question of Trump’s support, McBride said: ‘Trump hates political persecution and communism’, referring to the actions of the British government.
As McBride understood it, a low level Department of Justice official signed off on the warrant and that DOJ leadership were not aware of it.
McBride said the Tates were ‘100,000 percent contesting’ their extradition meaning the case will likely end up before a federal judge, and could drag on for months.
Asked directly if he wanted Trump to intervene in the case, McBride said: ‘No comment’.
The Tate brothers are reportedly friends with the President’s son Barron, 20, who, according to a report in the New York Times, ‘admires’ Andrew Tate and had a Zoom call with him in 2024.
Donald Trump Jr has shown support to Andrew Tate and in June 2024 on a joint live stream on X, the President’s son told him: ‘You’ve got people attacking you as far as I’m concerned.
‘They just want to silence you’.
The pending charges in the UK accuse the brothers of abusing women between July 2010 and August 2017. Their lawyer denied the charges
Attorney Joseph McBride claimed a low level Department of Justice official signed off on the warrant and that DOJ leadership were not aware of it
In January 2025, Andrew Tate reportedly texted a friend: ‘I had word from The Trump admin that they’re on top of things. Ive been told ill be free soon but Trump needs to see me in Miami’.
The following month Andrew and Tristan Tate were allowed to leave Romania for the US by Romanian prosecutors even though they still face charges there.
According to the Financial Times, Trump officials brought up the Tates’ case ahead of the decision, but the President himself has said he knows ‘nothing’ about it.
Sir Keir is due to leave office on Monday and will be replaced by Andy Burnham due to disastrous polling and a series of election defeats in the UK.
In the UK, the CPS is an independent agency and Sir Keir was the director of public prosecutions, the most senior official, from 2008 to 2013.
However, given the closeness between the Tates and Trump’s inner circle, any extradition request was always going to create issues between the US and the UK.
There is little love lost between Sir Keir and Trump either after the two fell out over the Prime Minister’s lack of support for the war in Iran.
Via email McBride said ‘yes’ when asked if he thought Sir Keir had approved the extradition just before he left office.
McBride said the Tates were ‘100,000 percent contesting’ their extradition meaning the case will likely end up before a federal judge
In January 2025, Andrew Tate reportedly texted a friend: ‘I had word from The Trump admin that they’re on top of things. I’ve been told ill be free soon but Trump needs to see me in Miami’
After their arrest on Saturday, a DOJ spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘Today, US Marshals in the Southern District of Florida arrested Andrew and Tristan Tate pursuant to extradition proceedings.
‘These arrests were made in accordance with the treaties and law enforcement agreements governing Justice Department extraditions.’
The DOJ has not responded to the Daily Mail’s request for comment on McBride’s allegations that the warrant was carried out without leadership approval.
We have also approached the White House for comment.
Andrew and Tristan were taken into custody just days after the Daily Mail revealed that the brothers met with US Republican Rep Wesley Hunt in DC. They also attended a party hosted by President Donald Trump’s special envoy Paolo Zampolli that was held in a private capacity and not related to Zampolli’s official duties.
‘Paolo loves the Tates, but the rest of the government doesn’t,’ a source familiar with the Trump administration said after their arrest. ‘A good reminder that he’s not exactly representative.’
The Tates are dual US and British citizens who moved to Romania in 2016.
The former professional kickboxers have amassed a following of fans, particularly young men and boys, by professing a lifestyle of luxury and unapologetic misogyny.
McBride said that the decision to seek the Tates’ extradition to the UK was done by Sir Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, as one of his last acts before he resigns on Monday
The brothers deny all the charges they face in all jurisdictions across the world
Andrew and Tristan were arrested in Romania in December 2022 and charged in June 2023 with human trafficking and forming an organized crime group to sexually exploit women. Andrew was additionally charged with rape.
The brothers deny all the charges they face worldwide.
Romanian prosecutors in August 2024 expanded the case against them to include money laundering, witness intimidation and complicity in the trafficking of minors.
British prosecutors filed their own charges against the brothers in May 2025, including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking.
Romanian courts ruled the pair would be extradited to the UK once proceedings in Romania conclude.
The Bucharest court of appeals ruled against sending the Tates to trial in 2024 and sent the case back to prosecutors after removing several pieces of evidence that were ‘deemed inadmissible” including initial testimonies from their alleged victims from the file.
Prosecutors are still investigating the first case, but in 2024 they began a second criminal investigation against the Tates and four other suspects on suspicion of forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.
The Tates flew from Romania to Florida in February 2025 after authorities lifted their travel ban, a reversal that followed reported pressure from Trump administration figures. Trump told reporters he knew ‘nothing about it.’
Romanian prosecutors in August 2024 expanded the case against them to include money laundering, witness intimidation and complicity in the trafficking of minors
British prosecutors filed their own charges against the brothers in May 2025, including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking
ProPublica later reported that a White House official intervened to have federal agents return electronic devices seized from the brothers when they landed in Florida.
This week’s gathering was not Zampolli’s first encounter with the brothers. He and Andrew were seen together on the sidelines of the Milken Institute Global Conference in May, and the two recently recorded a lengthy interview together.
Andrew has amassed over 10 million followers on X but has been banned from platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram for violating hate speech guidelines.
His most widely condemned rhetoric includes comments that women who are sexually assaulted should bear some responsibility for their attacks, graphic descriptions of how he might attack women and criticisms of people who seek treatment for mental illness.
