MIAMI—In a surprise move on Aug. 27, social media influencers and brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate took the stand in a Miami federal courtroom to argue for their release as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom.

The brothers were arrested last month in South Florida by U.S. marshals as British authorities sought their extradition on rape and sex trafficking charges. The Tates, who face similar accusations in Romania, where legal proceedings stalled, have denied the allegations.

They have remained in custody since their July 18 arrest.

After more than eight hours of arguments from both sides, Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis did not make a decision on whether the Tates warranted release on bail.

The Tates—clad in shackles and grey prison jumpsuits—both took the stand in their defense to argue why the United States should free them.

Tristan took the stand first, telling the court that their time in solitary confinement has been “physical and psychological torture.” His cell has roaches and ants and is not properly cooled, he said, adding that he’s allowed around two to three hours outside per week.

He emphasized arguments his attorneys made during opening statements, claiming he and his brother were being tried based on their online personas.

When arguing the Tates were a dangerous flight risk, prosecutors referred to posts online where the brothers claimed they were “above the law,” have access to immense wealth and influence, and own multiple passports.

“My brother is the only person in the world held accountable for a character he portrays,” Tristan said about Andrew.

Supporters of Andrew and Tristan Tate held signage reading “Human Rights Matter” and “Free the Tates.” A group of about 30 remained outside the Miami federal courthouse from the morning until later in the afternoon for the influencer brothers’ custody hearing on Aug. 27, 2026. (Troy Myers/Epoch Times)

“If every rapper was held to their word, then they'd be indicted for murder,” Tristan said.

“This is the most political case in history,” Andrew added on the stand. “The victims are my brother and I.”

Andrew faces a total of 42 charges in the UK, including rape, assault, facilitating travel for exploitation, controlling prostitution for gain, distributing indecent images of a child, and possession of extreme pornography.

Tristan is facing 17 charges, including rape, assault, sexual assault, and facilitating travel for exploitation.

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service said the charges, stemming from conduct between 2010 and 2017, bring the total number of alleged victims in the case to seven.

One of the brothers’ lawyers, Joseph McBride, called the charges stemming out of the UK “filth and slander,” while alleging the attempt to extradite them is politically motivated.

“We’re positive. We are prepared,” Tate attorney Joseph McBride also told reporters ahead of the hearing. “We are prayed up, and we’re ready to go in there and inform the court as to why we’ve met the burden of special circumstances” that would allow the Tates’ release.

Attorney Joseph McBride gave a passionate speech after arguing on Andrew and Tristan Tate's behalf for about eight hours for them to be released in Miamion Aug. 27, 2026. (Troy Myers/Epoch Times)

In briefs filed ahead of Thursday’s custody hearing, the Tates and their legal team have relied heavily on “a documented record of compliance.”

This was a major argument they used in Thursday’s hearing.

The brothers moved to Romania in 2016 and were arrested in 2022 over allegations of participating in schemes of sexually exploiting women. They have denied these accusations.

Initially, the Tates were not allowed to leave Romania as part of their conditions of release.

But by February 2025, their travel restrictions were lifted, allowing them to travel again. The brothers were in Miami for a boxing event in July when they were arrested.

The brothers were still required to check back with Romanian authorities frequently about their case. Their lawyers have argued the Tates have abided by their release conditions and were flying back to Romania every month.

However, Louis said she couldn’t fully rely on any proceedings or conduct in Romania. 

“None of us sitting here have any knowledge of Romanian laws,” she remarked during Thursday’s hearing. She accepted a proposal from the brothers’ lawyers to submit a brief detailing how the proceedings in America would impact the trial in Romania.

Louis specifically asked for more information on how the brothers’ continued detainment in the United States, and thus absence from Romanian proceedings, would impact that case. She ordered the defense to file those materials by Aug. 31 and gave the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors until Sept. 2 to reply if they wished.

Andrew and Tristan Tate’s attorneys hold a press conference after the brothers’ custody hearing, accusing the Department of Justice of “mocking” and politically attacking their clients. The judge did not decide whether to grant the Tates release on bail during the hearing in Miami on Aug. 27, 2026. (Troy Myers/Epoch Times)

The DOJ argued against their release while extradition proceedings to the UK unfold. In a brief filed on Aug 10, the DOJ claimed the Tates’ motion for release fails “to demonstrate lack of flight risk, lack of danger to the community, or any special circumstances to justify release, either individually or cumulatively.”

Prosecutor Alejandra Lopez said in the hearing that the brothers and their lawyers did not provide any evidence at all to deny those claims.

“They provided this court nothing but their own statement,” Lopez said in her closing arguments. “The one thing we do know, that they admitted in testimony, is that they’re liars, they exaggerate.”

That admittance was pulled out of both Tates during the government’s cross-examination when the brothers were asked if their online personas can be classified as lies, which the brothers begrudgingly accepted but pushed back on.

The DOJ cited the brothers’ flashy lifestyle, prior posts boasting excessive wealth, influence in other countries, and their claims of possessing multiple passports and identities.

“You could drop me in the middle of the Pacific,” Andrew said on the stand, defending against the DOJ’s claim that he and his brother are flight risks. “I’ll still make it to court.”

In a social media post from 2019, the DOJ noted, Andrew Tate wrote, “18 countries my friends. HARD TO KILL. ABOVE THE LAW.”

In an Aug. 25 reply to the DOJ’s filing, the Tates’ lawyers said the federal government ignored the brothers’ previous conduct in complying with Romanian authorities.

“The [DOJ] does not deny the numbers: 1,193 days of supervised conduct, thirty-four departures and thirty-four returns, and zero failures to appear,” Tate’’s lawyers recited at the hearing.

McBride also has claimed the UK doesn’t have any evidence to support the accusations.

“They don’t have anything but the accusations,” McBride said in July. “It’s just their word against our word right now.”

The UK has until mid-September to submit its supporting materials to the U.S. State Department to justify the brothers’ extradition. The UK’s formal extradition request is due to the United States by Sept. 16.

Louis will ultimately have the final say over whether the Tates’ request to be released should be granted.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will have the final decision on whether to order the brothers’ extradition.

Protestors gathered in support of the Tates outside the courthouse chanted “Free Top G!” in reference to Andrew’s online nickname.  

Supporter Ben Valen told The Epoch Times that the Tates’ “positive message” has influenced him to earn more money and improve his family members’ lives. 

Ben Valen is a staunch Andrew and Tristan Tate supporter, saying the brothers have helped him encourage him to earn more money and have better relationships with his family. Valen stood outside the Miami federal courthouse while the social media stars' custody hearing unfolded inside in Miami on Aug. 27, 2026. (Troy Myers/Epoch Times)

When asked about Andrew’s controversial political views, Valen—who is gay—said he doesn’t care.

“The question of whether he’s a misogynist, or homophobic or transphobic or whatever ... is a separate question from whether he should be held in solitary confinement,” he said. 

Another supporter, Azenath Gregoire, flew from California to South Florida to offer her support. While waiting in line to attend the hearing, she told The Epoch Times about the positive impacts both brothers have had on her life.

She started listening to Andrew’s social media videos after her father passed away, and three years later, she now owns two business, a med spa, and a retirement home, and is “doing well again.”

Azenath Gregoire traveled from California to South Florida in support of the Tate brothers. She said the social media stars have influenced her life in a tremendous way, while standing outside the Miami federal courthouse on Aug. 27, 2026. (Troy Myers/Epoch Times)

“If people knew what they really stand for ... you would see that they encourage us,” Gregoire said. “They stand very strong for women, and they helped a lot of boys, and if you go in their community, you see how it’s always encouraging.

”They don’t treat us like people think.”