In April, Romanian police raided the home of Andrew Tate, a vocal online figure who strongly joined the views of former US President Donald Trump. The police raided his home as part of an investigation into allegations of human trafficking. The raid highlighted Tate's ties to prominent figures in the Trump-led "Make America Great Again" movement.
Before April 11 when his home was broken into, Tate was known for his career in kickboxing and for being a vocal Trump supporter in far-right Internet communities. After introducing himself on social media as a man with enough wealth to swim and play in the cigar-smoking masculine trope, he was eventually described as the "king of toxic masculinity."
Unfortunately, there seems to be an ugly truth lurking behind this particular title jokingly. After the British version of the popular TV series Big Brother was released after a video emerged of him hitting a woman with a belt, he and his brother Tristan Tate came under fire after the British Daily Mirror revealed their Romanian-based work. A scheme to make money from naive men. The brothers supposedly used webcam models in their endeavors, and tricked the men into sending them thousands and thousands of dollars.
Also, in a YouTube video posted on his channel, Tate explained that the reason he chose to move to Romania was "40 percent" in part because of the "Me Too" era that spread to Western countries. Referring to the social movement "# MeToo" against sexual harassment and abuse where victims of crimes publicly make their claims public, Tate deeply deplored the way in which women in particular tepidly "destroy" men's lives in the West. False allegations, giving an example of a man who does not return text messages to a woman after standing drunk one night and is guilty of rape in the eyes of Western law enforcement and the wider public.
Romania's Directorate of Investigation into Organized Crime and Terrorism told The Daily Beast that the raid on Tate's home was part of a wider investigation. Saeed's investigation was reportedly launched through a report of a woman being held in Tate's home against her will. Further investigations eventually escalated, including "human trafficking and rape offences".
Video taken during the raid shows armed police officers walking near Tate sports cars sitting under a neon logo illuminated by his last name accompanied by a Persian chess piece. Separate video captured both Tate brothers entering pickup trucks by police officers.
According to a Romanian newspaper, the raid began because of reports that an American woman had been detained against her will at Tate's residence. Police allegedly found an American woman and a Romanian woman in the building during the raid. While responding to a request for comment, a U.S. State Department spokesman hinted at reporting the abduction of an American citizen but chose not to provide any further comment on the matter.