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Miami arrest, UK extradition
Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate appeared in federal court in Miami on Monday for the first time since their arrest on Saturday, and they are being held in federal detention as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom on rape and sex trafficking charges.
“Tate brothers fight extradition to UK over rape and sex trafficking charges A lawyer says influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate will fight extradition to the United Kingdom MIAMI -- Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will fight extradition to the United Kingdom where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, their lawyer said Monday, suggesting their arrest in Miami was politically motivated”
U.S. Magistrate Lauren Louis set another hearing for Monday July 27, and the brothers wore tan jail uniforms and handcuffs during the brief hearing.
Their attorney Joseph McBride told reporters they are “of course objecting to extradition because Andrew and Tristan are innocent,” and he said “There’s no question about it” that the attempt to extradite was politically motivated.
Prosecutors in Britain said the new charges relate to four new victims and were brought after authorities received evidence from Bedfordshire Police in southeastern England, with allegations spanning 2010 to 2017.
Defense and prosecution clash
McBride blasted the latest charges as “filth and slander,” and he told reporters the chances of the brothers being released following the hearing were “slim to none.”
In Britain, Malcolm McHaffie, head of the Special Crime Division of the Crown Prosecution Service, said, “We have decided to prosecute Andrew and Tristan Tate for further offenses including rape, arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation and offences relating to indecent images of a child.”
The U.K. allegations described by prosecutors include rape, assault, trafficking and offenses relating to “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography,” and the brothers are already charged with rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain relating to three other alleged victims in the U.K. between 2012 and 2015.
CNN reported a friend of the Tates who witnessed the arrests in Miami saying, “I was with them when it happened. We were walking over to the fight and just ‘boom’ — they were everywhere.”
What happens next
The extradition process will hinge on whether a U.S. district judge determines the request meets the conditions for extradition, and in the coming weeks the judge will consider whether the brothers meet the requirements for extradition.
In Miami, the brothers’ team told Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis they would request a bond hearing and plan to contest the U.K.’s extradition petition, which is pending, while Louis set a hearing for next Monday to schedule the bond hearing and dates for filing briefs.
The law makes extradition difficult to win, and a New York-based lawyer and expert in the procedure, Jacques Semmelman, said, “It is very hard for the defense to defeat an extradition.”
If the judge finds the threshold is met and any appeals fail, the final decision to extradite would rest with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Semmelman said, “In most cases the secretary of state will sign the warrant of extradition.”
