The lawyer representing social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate has accused U.S. authorities of "weaponising" the legal process against the brothers as they fight extradition to the UK.
The Tate brothers, who hold both U.S. and British citizenship, were arrested in Miami on 18 July and are being held in federal custody while contesting Britain's request to extradite them. UK authorities want the pair to face charges including rape, assault and facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation. The brothers deny all allegations.
Speaking outside a federal courthouse in Miami on Monday, attorney Joseph McBride argued that the extradition process was being used to deprive his clients of their freedom before any conviction.
McBride alleged that those pursuing the case were deliberately prolonging legal proceedings to pressure the brothers and also voiced concern over the brothers' detention conditions, warning that prolonged solitary confinement could have serious psychological effects.
"They are weaponising the court process and weaponising the detention against them in order to get them to break. When you put innocent men or any man in solitary confinement... they begin to deteriorate, they begin to break down," he said.
McBride said the defence would seek to have the brothers removed from solitary confinement and brought before a judge as soon as possible.
"Unless they can provide corroboration... what they really have at the end of the day is a big bag of nothing," McBride said.
Andrew Tate, 39, claimed in a post on X on Sunday (26 July) that he was being held in a Special Housing Unit with inadequate access to clean drinking water.
He said his only source of water came from a shower faucet, which he described as "brown and filthy," adding that it had caused ongoing stomach problems. Tate again denied wrongdoing and questioned the conditions of his detention, asking, "Where are my rights?"
The brothers will file a legal motion seeking their release on bail by 5 August, and a hearing over their bid for release will take place on 13 August, Defence Lawyer Jacqueline Perczek said
The legal process for determining whether the Tate brothers may be extradited could take months. Britain has until 16 September to submit its full extradition request to the State Department, U.S. court records show.
Louis or any other judge who takes up the Tate brothers' case would be responsible for determining whether Britain has supplied enough evidence to provide probable cause that the brothers have committed the crimes of which they are accused, prosecutors said in court papers.
It would then be up to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to decide whether they should be extradited, the prosecutors said.
Rubio told reporters in Manila on 22 July that he did not expect to intervene in the case for now.
"There's no role for us to play at this moment or maybe ever," Rubio said.
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