Attorneys for social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate filed a motion Friday in Miami federal court seeking their release while they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where they face rape and sex trafficking charges, the Associated Press reported.
The filing also describes harsh detention conditions at Miami's Federal Detention Center, where the brothers are held in a protective unit with limited family contact, no television or radio, no commissary access, and bunks shorter than they are tall — conditions the defense says violate due process for detainees who haven't been convicted.
A judge will decide next week whether the brothers remain jailed during what could be a months-long extradition process, prosecutors have until respond to the motion filed by defense attorneys, according to the report.
The brothers deny all charges.
The defense argues the brothers' fame itself works against any flight risk, noting they routinely post their locations on social media and have complied with pretrial restrictions in a separate Romanian case for three years.
"Every prediction the government now asks this Court to make about the brothers' future conduct... has already been made and answered by three years of data showing that they do not flee," the motion states.
The new UK charges stem from four additional accusers identified through evidence from Bedfordshire police, alleging rape, assault, trafficking and offenses involving indecent images of a child and extreme pornography between 2010 and 2017.
The brothers already face separate UK charges involving three accusers from 2012-2015, plus an unresolved Romanian case dating to their 2022 arrest there. Their attorneys argue the UK is improperly trying to "jump ahead" of pending Romanian proceedings that had already deferred their surrender.
The Tates, dual US-UK citizens and vocal Trump supporters, were arrested July 18, but the White House has said they shouldn't expect presidential assistance.
Andrew Tate, 39, first gained fame on the UK's "Big Brother" before building a following of over 10 million on X, despite bans from YouTube, TikTok and Instagram for hate speech violations tied to widely condemned comments about sexual assault victims.
Tristan Tate, 38, has worked alongside his brother in various ventures, including webcam pornography production.