Author Spotlight
Mary Gagen
Social media influencer Andrew Tate, popular for his conservative beliefs was arrested on the evening of Dec. 29, along with his brother, Tristan Tate, in Romania due to their connection to a human trafficking ring.
Five home-search warrants were implemented by Romanian prosecutors. Romanian authorities had been investigating the group for two years prior to the arrest.
His fanbase, primarily teenage boys, became infatuated with his videos. He preached on dominance and male authority, which attracted young men. Originally, Andrew Tate gained fame in mid 2022 on his Youtube channel and Instagram, posting everything from life advice to workout videos.
The investigation began in 2021. Officers originally observed that two Romanians, later identified as the Tate brothers, and two British suspects created a criminal group in which they committed crimes in Romania, the UK and U.S. Since the investigation, they’ve been charged with 6 accounts of human trafficking, primarily emotionally and physically manipulating individuals into submission and then raping them.
Many have taken to social media with varying claims about the arrest and its circumstances. Sophomore Sylvia MohrSting believes that Tate’s influences were already negative, but his extreme actions should be punished by the law.
“It’s disgusting and incomprehensible that people do this to each other at all,” MohrSting said, “Taking people from their families and hurting them is just horrible.”
However, there are individuals who disagree with MohrSting’s thought process. Freshman Jack Stratemeir claims that the accusations against Tate are false and over the top.
“I don’t think he did it,” Stratemeier said, “It’s not that I believe in any of the nonsense that he has to say, but it just doesn’t seem right that he would do something that serious.”
Individuals such as Stratemeier are suspicious of the extreme accusations at hand.
“I believe that he might have done something wrong to alert authorities but I don’t believe that he has done something as serious as trafficking humans,” Stratemeier continued.
Despite contradictory claims, the public police records released by the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism are clear in their accusations of guilt commenting:
“We make it clear that during the entire criminal process, the investigated persons benefit from the procedural rights and guarantees provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the presumption of innocence.”
They will follow through with a criminal trial in Romania, although dates are currently unknown.
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