Ron DeSantis doesn’t want Florida to take Andrew Tate. But does he have a choice?

Ron DeSantis. Image via Facebook Live.

Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida isn’t the right state for disgraced influencer Andrew Tate.

Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, arrived Thursday in the U.S. after authorities lifted travel restrictions on the siblings, who have millions of online followers. A spokesperson for the brothers, Mateea Petrescu, said the two landed in Fort Lauderdale around midday.

But DeSantis said the arrangement, which came after Donald Trump envoy Richard Grenell reportedly met with a Romanian official earlier this year, was unwelcome news to him and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.

“Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct in the air, and I don’t know how it came to this. We were not involved, we were not notified. I found out through the media that this was something that was happening,” DeSantis said Thursday at Camp Blanding.

He also said Uthmeier is exploring “what state hooks and jurisdiction we may have to be able to deal with this,” and expressed “confidence” that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem “will be looking at that.”

“Early this morning, I directed my office to work with our state law enforcement partners to conduct a preliminary inquiry into these individuals,” Uthmeier promised Thursday afternoon. “Florida has zero tolerance for human trafficking and violence against women. If any of these alleged crimes trigger Florida jurisdiction, we will hold them accountable.”

Yet DeSantis conceded that “the federal government has jurisdiction” regarding “whether they want to rebuff his entry into the United States.”

Tate’s legal representation fired back after the presser, saying the Governor “disgraced himself” by saying the Tates weren’t welcome in Florida.

Asked if his administration pressured the Romania government to release the Tates, Trump told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office that he did not know anything about the circumstances: “I just know nothing about it. We’ll check it out. We’ll let you know.”

The Tates — who are dual U.S.-British citizens — were arrested in late 2022 and formally indicted last year on charges they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to Romania, where they were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. They deny the allegations.

In December, a court ruled that the case could not go to trial because of multiple legal and procedural irregularities on the part of the prosecutors. The case, however, remained open, and there is also another ongoing investigation against them in Romania.

Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, said in a statement Thursday that prosecutors approved a request to change the travel restrictions on the Tates, but it did not say who made the request.

The brothers are still required to appear before judicial authorities when summoned.

“The defendants have been warned that deliberately violating these obligations may result in judicial control being replaced with a stricter deprivation-of-liberty measure,” the statement said.

DeSantis’ appearance at Camp Blanding spotlighted state law enforcement efforts from the Florida State Guard that his administration revived amid concerns that the National Guard was overstretched as an expeditionary force. Whether the State Guard will be dispatched to deal with the Tates is unknown at this writing.

In other developments Thursday, a court ruled in favor of an appeal by the Tates to lift the seizure of multiple assets, according to Petrescu. The assets include six luxury vehicles, land and properties, and company shares. All previously frozen bank accounts have been unfrozen, she said.

“While some assets remain under precautionary seizure, this ruling marks a significant step toward justice,” she said.

Andrew Tate, 38, a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who has amassed more than 10 million followers on X, has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him. He and Tristan Tate, 36, are vocal supporters of Trump.

Just weeks ago, Andrew Tate posted on X: “The Tates will be free, Trump is the president. The good old days are back. And they will be better than ever. Hold on.”

The Tates’ departure came after Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said this month that a Trump administration official expressed interest in the brothers’ case at the recent Munich Security Conference. The minister insisted no pressure was applied to lift restrictions on the Tates after a Financial Times report on the meeting caused a stir in Romania.

The Bucharest Court of Appeal’s decision that the Tate case could not proceed was a huge setback for DIICOT, but it did not mean the defendants could walk free, and the case has not been closed.

Last August, DIICOT also launched a second case against the brothers, investigating allegations of human trafficking, the trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor, influencing statements and money laundering. They have denied those charges as well.

After the Tate brothers were arrested in 2022, they were held for three months in detention before being moved to house arrest. They were later restricted to the Bucharest municipality and nearby Ilfov County, and then to Romania. Andrew Tate was placed back under house arrest last year in the second case, but that measure was lifted last month.

The Tate brothers’ legal battles are not limited to Romania.

Four British women who accused Andrew Tate of sexual violence and physical abuse are suing him in the U.K., after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute him.

The women said Thursday in a joint statement that they are “in disbelief and feel re-traumatized” by news that the travel restrictions were lifted.

Matthew Jury, a lawyer with McCue Jury & Partners, which is representing the women, called the decision to lift the travel ban “disgusting and dismaying.”

In March, the Tate brothers appeared at the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a separate case after U.K. authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression in a case dating back to the period from 2012 to 2015.

The appeals court granted the U.K. request to extradite the Tates, but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded.

Late last year, a U.K. court ruled that police can seize more than 2.6 million pounds ($3.3 million) to cover years of unpaid taxes from the pair and freeze some of their accounts. Andrew Tate called it “outright theft” and said it was “a coordinated attack on anyone who dares to challenge the system.”

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Material from The Associated Press was used in this report. Republished with permission.