On-line influencer Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist who has hundreds of thousands of younger male followers, was dealing with allegations of intercourse trafficking ladies in three international locations when he and his brother left their residence in Romania to go to the US.
“The Tates might be free, Trump is the president. The great outdated days are again,” Tate posted on X earlier than the journey in February — one in all many occasions he has sung the president’s praises to his followers.
However when the Tate brothers arrived by non-public airplane in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, they instantly discovered themselves within the crosshairs of legislation enforcement as soon as extra, as Customs and Border Safety officers seized their digital units.
This time, they’d a robust ally come to their help. Behind the scenes, the White Home intervened on their behalf.
Interviews and data reviewed by ProPublica present a White Home official informed senior Division of Homeland Safety officers to return the units to the brothers a number of days after they had been seized. The official who delivered the message, Paul Ingrassia, is a lawyer who beforehand represented the Tate brothers earlier than becoming a member of the White Home, the place he was working as its DHS liaison.
In his written request, a replica of which was reviewed by ProPublica, Ingrassia chided authorities for taking the motion, saying the seizure of the Tates’ units was not an excellent use of time or assets. The request to return the electronics to the Tates, he emphasised, was coming from the White Home.
The incident is the newest in a string of legislation enforcement issues the place the Trump White Home has inserted itself to assist pals and goal foes. Since getting into workplace for a second time period, Trump has urged the Justice Division to go after elected officers who investigated him and his companies, and he pardoned a string of political allies. Andrew Tate is likely one of the most distinguished members of the so-called manosphere, a set of influencers, podcasters and content material creators who helped ship younger male voters to Trump. And information of the White Home intervention on behalf of the accused intercourse traffickers comes as Trump is underneath fireplace over his ties to infamous little one intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein and his administration’s current efforts to cease the general public launch of the so-called Epstein recordsdata.
Ingrassia’s intervention on behalf of Tate and his brother, Tristan, brought on alarm amongst DHS officers that they might be interfering with a federal investigation in the event that they adopted by way of with the instruction, based on interviews and screenshots of contemporaneous communications between officers.
One official who was concerned and spoke on the situation of anonymity to keep away from dealing with retribution mentioned they had been disgusted by the request’s “brazenness and the high-handed expectation of complicity.”
“It was so offensive to what we’re all right here to do, to uphold the legislation and defend the American individuals,” the individual mentioned. “We don’t wish to be seen as handing out favors.”
It’s unclear why legislation enforcement wished to look at the units, what their evaluation discovered or whether or not Ingrassia’s intervention hindered any investigation. The White Home and DHS declined to reply questions concerning the incident.
However legislation enforcement specialists mentioned it’s extremely uncommon for the White Home to get entangled specifically border seizures or to demand authorities surrender custody of potential proof in an investigation.
“I’ve by no means heard of something like that in my 30 years working,” mentioned John F. Tobon, a retired assistant director for Homeland Safety Investigations, which usually analyzes the contents of digital units after they’re seized by Customs and Border Safety. “For anybody to say this request is from the White Home, it seems like an intimidation tactic.”
Tobon mentioned that even when authorities resisted the request from Ingrassia, data that the White Home opposed their actions might trigger them to be much less aggressive than they might usually be: “Anytime any person feels intimidated or as in the event that they’re not free to comply with process, that’s going to remain behind their thoughts due to the results. On this administration the results are completely different, individuals are getting fired.”
Samuel Buell, a Duke College legislation faculty professor and former federal prosecutor, known as the strain on behalf of the Tates “one other knowledge level” within the White Home politicizing legislation enforcement.
“This isn’t one thing that may have been considered as applicable or acceptable previous to 2025,” Buell mentioned. “There’s a sample right here of extreme departure from preexisting norms … which are being tossed apart left and proper.”
The Tate brothers’ lawyer, Joseph McBride, mentioned he didn’t know what occurred to the units however that his shoppers have nonetheless not had them returned. He mentioned it’s unclear whether or not any investigation into their contents is constant.
His shoppers, he mentioned, are harmless and there was no illicit supplies on their electronics. “There have been a number of investigations in opposition to them and nothing has come of it,” McBride mentioned.
Ingrassia labored at McBride’s agency earlier than becoming a member of the White Home, and McBride acknowledged talking “to Paul occasionally” however couldn’t recall discussing the seized units with him. Ingrassia, he mentioned, has by no means given the Tates particular therapy since becoming a member of the Trump administration.
The White Home declined to reply questions on whether or not Ingrassia was performing on his personal or representing the White Home’s needs.
In a short interview with ProPublica, Ingrassia denied making an attempt to assist the Tates, earlier than hanging up. “There was no intervention. Nothing occurred,” he mentioned. “There was nothing.”
Ingrassia’s lawyer, Edward Paltzik, mentioned in a textual content message: “Mr. Ingrassia by no means ordered that the Tate Brothers’ units be returned to them, nor did he say — and nor would he have ever mentioned — that such a directive got here from the White Home. This story is fiction, merely not true.”
When questioned about whether or not Ingrassia had requested authorities to return the units, even when he didn’t organize them to, Paltzik declined to remark, explaining that “the phrase ‘ask’ is inappropriate as a result of it’s meaningless on this context. He both ordered one thing or he didn’t. And as I mentioned, he did NOT order something.”
A DHS spokesperson didn’t reply to particular questions concerning the intervention or any impression it may need had on an investigation, solely saying in a press release that Customs and Border Safety “carried out a 100% baggage examination and detained all digital media units when the Tate Brothers entered the nation. Digital media units had been detained and turned over to Homeland Safety Investigators for inspectional functions.”
Ingrassia’s work at McBride’s small New York legislation agency included serving to to characterize the Tate brothers. He has praised Andrew Tate’s “bodily prowess” on social media alongside along with his “willpower and spirit,” calling him “the embodiment of the traditional perfect of excellence.”
Ethics specialists mentioned when authorities officers take actions to profit former shoppers, it undermines public belief.
“The rule of legislation can’t be carried out if it will depend on cronyism,” mentioned Virginia Canter, a former authorities ethics lawyer who served within the administrations of each events. “To have a member of the White Home intervene once they’ve had a previous consumer relationship and a few kind of private relationship, that offers rise to questions of impartiality.”
Trump had nominated Ingrassia to steer the Workplace of Particular Counsel, however the 30-year-old lawyer’s possibilities for Senate affirmation imploded after Politico reported that he had sent a string of racist text messages to fellow Republicans and described himself as having “a Nazi streak.” Paltzik, his lawyer, raised doubts concerning the authenticity of the texts however mentioned “even when the texts are genuine, they clearly learn as self-deprecating and satirical humor.”
In a submit on X asserting he was withdrawing from his Senate affirmation listening to as a result of not sufficient Republican lawmakers had been supporting him, Ingrassia mentioned he would “proceed to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Nice Once more.”
Final week, Ingrassia introduced he was transferring to a brand new position throughout the administration, after Trump known as him into his workplace and requested him to function deputy basic counsel on the Normal Companies Administration.
It’s unclear what prompted authorities to grab the Tates’ property, however the bar for looking digital units is considerably decrease for these getting into the U.S. in contrast with these already within the nation, even when they’re residents.
After the seizure, the contents had been examined by federal brokers with Homeland Safety Investigations, based on the official concerned. A Homeland Safety official, who requested for anonymity as a result of they didn’t have permission to talk publicly, confirmed that HSI brokers scrutinized the contents.
The Tates left the US in late March.
No prison prices have been filed in opposition to the brothers in the US, although a lawyer representing 4 nameless defendants sued by them in Florida filed courtroom papers this 12 months suggesting that federal prosecutors within the Southern District of New York had been investigating the pair. No different particulars have develop into public, and a spokesperson for the prosecutors’ workplace declined to remark.
In an interview with conservative podcaster Candace Owens quickly after touchdown in Florida, Andrew Tate revealed his units had been seized, saying they had been taken after he refused to offer customs officers his passwords.
Tate, who was born within the U.S. however spent a lot of his childhood in Britain earlier than transferring as an grownup to Romania, complained that his rights had been violated, calling himself “one of the crucial harmless individuals on the planet.”
And he mentioned legislation enforcement officers wouldn’t discover something on his units: “You suppose I sleep with a cellphone filled with proof? You suppose I don’t wipe my cellphone each night time? You suppose I’m dumb? Come get me.”
In that interview, Tate made no point out of a White Home official intervening on his behalf and seemingly misidentified state authorities in Florida as answerable for taking his units.
Shortly after the Tates landed on Feb. 27, Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Lawyer Normal James Uthmeier introduced that Florida authorities had launched an investigation into the brothers. Uthmeier mentioned his workplace had “secured and executed subpoenas and warrants” and known as the brothers’ habits “atrocious.”
“These guys have themselves publicly admitted to collaborating in what very a lot seems to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon ladies world wide,” he mentioned on the time. “We’re not going to simply accept it.”
The standing of the Florida investigation is unclear. A spokesperson for the Florida legal professional basic declined to remark for this text.
Allegations of sexual abuse and violence have swirled round Andrew Tate for nearly so long as he’s been within the public eye. In 2016, Tate was booted off the forged of the British model of the “Large Brother” actuality sequence across the time a video emerged of him whipping a lady with a belt. Tate mentioned he and the girl had been joking.
Tate’s profile solely rose afterward, and he started amassing a following as a self-help guru for younger males. He shortly aligned himself with Trump’s then-young MAGA motion.
“The tate household assist trump FULLY. MAGA!” he posted on social media after assembly with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower in 2017.
Tate moved to Romania a 12 months after his temporary foray in actuality TV, partly, he mentioned, as a result of he believed authorities there examine intercourse crimes much less aggressively.
“I’m not a … rapist however I like the thought of having the ability to do what I would like,” he said.
However in 2023, prosecutors in Romania accused the Tates of working a prison group that trafficked ladies, together with some who alleged the brothers led them to consider they had been fascinated about relationships however as a substitute pressured them into filming on-line pornographic movies. Prosecutors additionally mentioned they had been investigating allegations that the Tates trafficked minors. Andrew Tate was charged with rape. The Tates have denied the allegations, and the preliminary prices in opposition to them had been despatched again to prosecutors by a courtroom due to procedural issues.
The Tates face related allegations in Britain. Authorities there licensed a raft of prices in opposition to the brothers, together with rape and human trafficking, based mostly on allegations from three ladies. In 2024, arrest warrants had been issued for the brothers, who’ve denied wrongdoing, however authorities mentioned they might not be extradited to the UK till prison proceedings in Romania had been accomplished.
A lady has additionally sued the Tates in Florida, accusing them of luring her to Romania to coerce her into intercourse work. The Tates have denied the allegations, and final month a decide dismissed most of her claims however allowed for her to refile.
This 12 months, Tate derided the allegations in opposition to him and in contrast himself to Trump on X. “Romania? No case UK? No case USA? No case,” he posted on X. “Lawfare? – Im one of the crucial mistreated males in historical past beside president Trump himself.”
The intervention on behalf of the Tates was not the primary time these round Trump took an curiosity in authorized points involving the brothers.
In February, Romania’s foreign minister mentioned that presidential envoy Richard Grenell informed him at a world safety convention in Germany that he remained within the destiny of the Tates. “I didn’t understand this assertion as strain,” the overseas minister, Emil Hurezeanu, mentioned, “only a repeat of a recognized stance.” Grenell told the Financial Times that he had “no substantive dialog” with Hurezeanu however supported “the Tate brothers as evident by my publicly obtainable tweets.”
