SOURCES: Tate Brothers left Romania on a private jet to Florida at 5 AM / Trump’s envoy intervened with Foreign Minister 10 days ago

The Tate brothers left Romania at five in the morning on Thursday, flying directly to Florida on a private jet from Băneasa Airport, according to airport sources who spoke to G4Media.ro. Andrew Tate was supposed to be under house arrest in connection with a case involving the alleged sexual exploitation of 34 women, following a ruling by the Bucharest Court of Appeal in favor of DIICOT (Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism).

The Trump administration reportedly pressured Romania to lift restrictions on the Tate brothers, as Financial Times revealed ten days ago.

As of the time of publication, it remains unclear whether the travel restrictions on the Tate brothers were lifted and, if so, who authorized their removal.

Trump’s Special Envoy Intervened for the Tate Brothers

At the time, Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu confirmed to G4Media that he had a discussion in which Richard Grenell, a special envoy of the United States and a close Trump ally, brought up the Tate brothers and his interest in their situation.

Grenell, who has publicly supported the Tate brothers on X (formerly Twitter), has been vocal in their defense despite the serious allegations against them. Andrew and Tristan Tate face charges in Romania including human trafficking, repeated rape, and the formation of an organized criminal group. They are also under investigation in the United Kingdom, and similar allegations have recently emerged in the United States.

Hurezeanu stated that the discussion took place in a conference hallway when he approached Grenell to inquire about his potential visit to Romania.

“He responded, ‘As you well know, I’m interested in the fate of the Tate brothers.’ That was it. Later, I requested another meeting to learn more about his intentions regarding Romania, but that meeting never took place,” Hurezeanu told G4Media.

He emphasized that Grenell’s remarks suggested continued U.S. interest in the Tate brothers’ case.

Background: The Tate Brothers’ Legal Troubles and Political Support

According to Financial Times, Andrew and Tristan Tate, who hold both American and British citizenship, have become high-profile figures in right-wing social media circles since their arrest in Romania in 2022. They were charged with human trafficking, sexual abuse, money laundering, and forming an organized crime group. Both deny the accusations.

The U.S. government first raised the Tate case in a phone call with the Romanian government before Grenell personally followed up during a meeting with the Romanian foreign minister at the Munich Security Conference, according to three sources cited by Financial Times.

A fourth source claimed that there was a request for the brothers’ passports to be returned and for them to be allowed to travel while awaiting trial.

Hurezeanu declined to comment on his exchanges with Grenell. His spokesperson confirmed that the Romanian minister initiated the meeting and that the two had known each other for a long time, as both served as ambassadors to Berlin during Trump’s first term.

However, the spokesperson emphasized:

“Romanian courts are independent and operate according to the law. There is due process.” (Financial Times quote)

Grenell, in turn, downplayed the interaction, stating that he had no ‘substantial conversation’ with Hurezeanu, who merely “saw me in the hallway and requested a meeting.”

“I support the Tate brothers, as my publicly available tweets make clear,” Grenell added.

Grenell’s Public Defense of the Tates and USAID Allegations

This month, Grenell took to X to claim that Romania was “the latest example” of how U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funds were “weaponized against individuals and politicians who weren’t woke (radical leftists).”

Financial Times also reported that Tristan Tate encouraged supporters to investigate whether USAID funds had been used in Romania to finance the criminal investigation into them.

The Tate brothers have a massive following in the “manosphere”—a network of online communities promoting male supremacy and anti-feminist views—which played a role in Trump’s reelection campaign.

Tucker Carlson, a pro-Trump media figure known for his sympathy toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, has interviewed both brothers in the past.

In November, Tristan Tate boasted on X about the influence he and his brother had on young voters, stating:

“Millions of young men in Europe and the U.S. now have a healthy right-wing political stance—one they would NOT have had if Andrew Tate had never appeared on their phone screens.”

UK Seeks Extradition of the Tate Brothers

The United Kingdom has requested the extradition of the Tate brothers after Bedfordshire Police obtained an arrest warrant as part of an investigation into rape and human trafficking allegations.

A Romanian court ruled last year that extradition would only be possible after the conclusion of legal proceedings in Romania.

Meanwhile, Romanian prosecutors allege that since 2015, Andrew and Tristan Tate, along with their associates, recruited 34 women and forced them to create pornographic content that was then sold for profit.

“The illicit earnings obtained by the accused from the sexual exploitation of their victims were estimated at over $2.8 million and 887,000 tokens,” Romanian anti-organized crime prosecutors stated.

On August 21, 2024, DIICOT announced that Andrew and Tristan Tate had been charged with forming an organized crime group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, engaging in sexual acts with a minor, money laundering, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice.

However, on December 19, 2024, the Bucharest Court of Appeal ordered the case to be sent back to prosecutors for further investigation.