Romanian authorities deny pizza box led to Andrew Tate’s arrest as influencer held for 30 days
Prosecutors say they found six women sexually exploited by suspects
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Romanian authorities say a pizza box did not tip agencies to the whereabouts of misogynist influencer Andrew Tate who has been arrested on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.
Memes and a widely shared screengrab of Tate eating from a pizza box in a Twitter video response to climate activist Greta Thunberg drew speculation that the local pizza place gave away his whereabouts.
But the arrest of the 36-year-old misogynist social media personality and his brother on Thursday followed a months-long investigation, according to authorities.
Tate, a British citizen previously banned from social media platforms for his misogynistic views and hate speech, was arrested along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian suspects, according to officials who raided their properties in Bucharest.
All four suspects, including Tate, will be held for 30 days after a judge extended their initial detention period of 24 hours, said Ramona Bolla, of anti-organised crime agency Diicot. She said the decision was not final and the suspects may appeal.
Prosecutors say they found six women who had been sexually exploited by the suspects.
ICYMI Clip of Tucker Carlson defending Andrew Tate resurfaces after arrest
Far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson is under fire for defending Andrew Tate while Romanian police were investigating him for alleged human trafficking.
In an interview with the misogynist social media influencer in August of this year, Mr Carlson incredulously asked his audience: “They’re telling us he’s a criminal. Okay: has he been charged? Who are the victims?”
On Friday, police in Romania arrested Mr Tate and his brother on suspicion of human trafficking and rape, accusing them and two other people of forming “an organised crime group” to make money from coerced pornography.
Jo Dodds has more:
Clip of Tucker Carlson defending Andrew Tate resurfaces after rape arrest
The misogynist social media influencer was already known to be under investigation by Romanian police
ICYMI Greta Thunberg makes cheeky dig at Andrew Tate over pizza box
ICYMI: Greta Thunberg responded to news that Andrew Tate has been detained in Romania, very possibly thanks to their recent Twitter spat.
On Thursday, the controversial online personality and his brother Tristan were detained in Romania as part of a human trafficking and rape investigation.
It is speculated that the arrest may not have happened had he not posted a clapback video addressed to Thunberg on Twitter.
On Friday, Thunberg responded to news that their online spat had aided in Tate’s arrest. Read more here:
Greta Thunberg makes cheeky dig at Andrew Tate over pizza box following arrest
Some have speculated that Tate’s arrest was made possible by his online feud with Thunberg
Andrew Tate posts bizarre tweet after arrested
Andrew Tate posted a bizarre tweet after his arrest in Romania on Friday.
Romanian authorities confirmed that the 36-year-old social media influencer had been detained on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organised crime group.
At 10.30am GMT, Tate posted to his Twitter account: “The Matrix sent their agents.”
The tweet, made in reference to his arrest, led to confusion whether Tate was detained but his lawyer later confirmed he was still in custody. A Romanian court later agreed a request from police to be able to detain him for 30 days.
Read more from Ellie Muir here:
Andrew Tate posts bizarre tweet after being arrested in Romania
Tate and his brother have reportedly been under investigation since April
Brothers ‘mocked F1 star Lewis Hamilton'
A video has resurfaced showing Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan mocking Lewis Hamilton.
The pair allegedly discussed violence against the British Formula 1 star, the Mirror reports.
The siblings were attending a race earlier this year when they talked about the seven-time world champion on camera. Andrew Tate began the rant by belittling the Brit’s talent and claiming he could match his achievements if put behind the wheel of an F1 car.
“It’s not impressive, I can do that,” he said.
Journalist ‘harassed’ by Andrew Tate saw influencer aggressively bang on his door
A journalist who claims he was harassed by Andrew Tate said the influencer “aggressively” banged on his door after Tommy Robinson exposed the reporter’s address online.
The arrests come three years after freelance journalist Mike Stuchbery had encounters with Tate and Robinson, after writing about the far-right.
Mr Stuchbery said Tate appeared at his home on two occasions in 2019, demanding entry and forcing the writer to call the police.
Mr Stuchbery recalled the incident with Tate after reports of his arrest emerged on Friday.
“At the time my then-wife was not really well so when he turned up and started banging on the door I didn’t answer,” Mr Stuchbery told The Independent.
“Who’s going to answer the door when that sort of thing is happening? He was banging aggressively saying I should come out and talk to him and that he just wanted to talk.”
Thomas Kingsley has more:
Journalist ‘harassed’ by Andrew Tate saw influencer aggressively bang on his door
Journalist Mike Stuchbery lived in Luton while both Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate lived in the area
Who is Andrew Tate? A background- part one
Social media influencer Andrew Tate rose to notoriety in 2016 when he was removed from British TV show Big Brother over a video that appeared to show him hitting a woman with a belt.
A former kickboxing world champion, 36-year-old Tate amassed millions of followers across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.
He claimed in an interview with Piers Morgan this month that he was the “most googled man on earth”, but Google Trends ranked him the eighth most searched person globally in 2022.
His commentary across social media platforms has been met with controversy.
In 2017, he was banned on Twitter for saying that women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted.
Tate said last year on the Anything Goes with James English podcast: “I will state right now that I am absolutely sexist and I’m absolutely a misogynist.”
In August, he was banned by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for violating policies.
But he was reinstated to Twitter last month and has 3.7 million followers.
It was reported on Friday that Tate had been detained in Romania, where he moved five years ago, as part of a human trafficking investigation.
On his website, Tate has described himself as a multi-millionaire who grew up “broke as a joke” with his brother, Tristan, in a single-mother household.
Everything you need to know about the controversial influencer arrested in Romania
Andrew Tate is no stranger to controversy.
The former kickboxer and social media influencer, who has gained notoriety over the years for peddling misogynistic views, was detained in Romania on Thursday 29 December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organised crime group, prosecutors said.
The arrest came after Tate shared a video hitting back at climate activist Greta Thunberg, prominently displaying pizza boxes from local chain Jerry’s Pizza.
Tate and his brother – who have reportedly been under investigation since April – will be detained for 24 hours.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Everything you need to know about Andrew Tate
Tate was arrested by Romanian authorities over human trafficking and rape charges on 29 December
Did the Romanian pizza box in response video to Greta Thunberg give away Andrew Tate’s location?
ICYMI: Just hours after Andrew Tate’s humiliating Twitter spat with climate activist Greta Thunberg, the controversial influencer was arrested by Romanian authorities for human trafficking and rape investigation.
The 36-year-old former kickboxer, who gained infamy for his misogynist views, was apprehended by Romanian police after they descended on a villa where he was staying with his brother on Thursday.
It is speculated that the arrest may have never happened if he had not posted a clapback video to mock Ms Thunberg on Twitter.
However, in an interview with the Washington Post, Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, denied that the pizza boxes in the Twitter video played a part in Mr Tate’s arrest, saying, “it was a hard job gathering all the evidence”.
Read more here:
Pizza box in video may have given away Andrew Tate’s location - reports
Tate arrested within 24 hours of posting his clapback video
Andrew Tate detained for 30 days by Romanian court
ICYMI: Romanian prosecutors have reportedly been granted permission to detain controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate for 30 days.
He was arrested late on Thursday with his brother Tristan and two other Romanian suspects after a raid on his house in Bucharest.
Earlier, a police spokesperson told the BBC that the 36-year-old would be held at a “detention centre”.
Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) issued a statement, but did not name the Tates, saying two British citizens and two Romanians were suspected of being part of a criminal group focused on human trafficking.
Prosecutors had applied to a Bucharest court early on Friday for the right to hold the suspects beyond 24 hours and that has now been granted, the Associated Press reported.
According to the directorate, six injured people have been identified in relation to the investigation, one of whom is said to have been violently sexually assaulted in March.
Some of the suspects allegedly used the “loverboy” method of trafficking, which involves a man luring a victim into a relationship in order to sexually exploit them later, DIICOT said.
The victims were transported and housed in buildings in Ilfov county, which surrounds Bucharest, where they were coerced into making pornographic content, it is alleged.
DIICOT released a video of the raid showing guns, knives and money on display in one room.
Outside the court, the Tates’ lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, said they would appeal against the detention.
“We are not at a stage where guilt or innocence is proven, for now we only discuss preventive measures,” he added. Mr Vidineac told the BBC his clients reject all the allegations.
Andrew Tate, 36, has yet to comment directly on the accusations.
Watch: Clip of Tucker Carlson defending Andrew Tate resurfaces after rape and human trafficking arrest
ICYMI: Far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson is under fire for defending Andrew Tate even while Romanian police were investigating him for alleged human trafficking.
In an interview with the misogynist social media influencer in August of this year, Mr Carlson incredulously asked his audience: "They're telling us he's a criminal. Okay: has he been charged? Who are the victims?"
Those questions were answered on Friday when police in Romania arrested Mr Tate and his brother on suspicion of human trafficking and rape, accusing them and two other people of forming "an organised crime group" to make money from coerced pornography.
Read more here
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.