Tate brothers’ lawyer vows to fight UK extradition, calls case a “political witch hunt”

Joe McBride, the lawyer representing controversial social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, has vowed to challenge their extradition to the UK, where they are set to face rape and sex trafficking charges, arguing that the brothers are being targeted in a “political witch hunt.”

Speaking outside a court in Miami, McBride claimed his clients were being “attacked for what they say, not what they've done” and described Britain as “a fallen state that prosecutes its citizens for free speech,” according to dpa.

The lawyer appeared to refer to the case of a woman arrested for praying outside an abortion clinic, while also alleging that political activist Tommy Robinson had been targeted “simply for exercising his free speech rights.”

McBride also suggested that US President Donald Trump could potentially become involved in the extradition process, saying that “he was elected to fight against this kind of nonsense.”

The Tate brothers, who are dual US and British citizens, were arrested by US marshals over the weekend and made their first appearance before a federal magistrate on Monday, July 20.

The arrests followed the filing of additional charges against them by British authorities. After the preliminary hearing, the brothers will remain in federal custody.

A US district judge is expected to review their extradition case in the coming weeks and determine whether the legal requirements for their transfer to the UK have been met.

Andrew Tate, 39, faces seven additional counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, as well as 19 further charges linked to offences involving indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.

Tristan Tate, 38, has been charged with one count of sexual assault, two counts of rape, and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the 38 new charges, alongside 21 previously existing charges, relate to alleged offences committed between July 2010 and August 2017.

Both brothers have previously denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

By Jeyhun Aghazada