Romania extends Andrew Tate charges and investigation
Romanian prosecutors have expanded their criminal investigation into internet celebrity Andrew Tate, adding charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against women.
Tate and his brother Tristan have been under criminal investigation since December 2022 on charges including human trafficking, but the two investigations have yet to go to trial.
They denied all wrongdoing.
The brothers, both former kickboxers with dual US and British citizenship, were first held in police custody and then placed under house arrest pending the investigation. The measures were later relaxed until regular checks with the police took place.
In April, a Romanian court lifted all preventive judicial control measures against them.
They and four other suspects are under investigation on suspicion of forming an organized crime group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.
“The investigation unit for combating organized crime (DIICOT) has ordered the expansion of investigations on charges of continuing to promote hatred or discrimination,” prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday. he said.
They said he incited the public to hatred and discrimination against women through various speeches promoted on social media between 2021 and 2024.
Tate said on channel X: “DIICOT in Romania is trying to charge me with speech violation offenses for jokes I made in my emergency meeting podcasts.”
“An American citizen is being charged for his speech. See you in court.”
A Romanian court ruled that British arrest warrants for the Tate brothers were also pending and that they would be extradited once their trial proceedings were completed in Romania.
Tate faces 10 charges in Britain, including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, the U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service said on Wednesday.
A self-described misogynist, Tate has gained millions of online fans by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle that critics say involves degrading women.
