Andrew Tate spat with Greta Thunberg leads to his arrest in Bucharest
A spat with Greta Thunberg last night led to the arrest of controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate as part of an investigation into alleged human trafficking in Romania.
The former British-American kickboxer and his brother, Tristian, were detained in Bucharest where they will be held for questioning for up to 24 hours.
Romanian television last night showed the 36 year old Tate being led into a police vehicle by armed police.
Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism did not name any suspects but said in a statement that four individuals, two United Kingdom citizens and two Romanian nationals, have reportedly formed a criminal group to carry out human trafficking in Romania, the UK and the United States.
“Investigators identified six alleged victims who had been sexually exploited by the group, which lured the women by expressing interest in a romantic relationship before using physical violence, intimidation and surveillance to force them into producing pornographic material.
“The investigation relates to allegations of organising a criminal group, human trafficking and rape.”
The Tate brothers were questioned by Romanian authorities in April after a tip-off that a US woman was being held against her will but both were released without any arrests made.
Tate later said in a YouTube video that he had been “pranked” by someone making a false report and he was “totally innocent.”
The news comes only a day after a comment by climate activist Greta Thunberg went viral.
The 19-year-old Nobel Prize nominee responded to a Tate taunt that he owns 33 cars and with “enormous emissions.”
Thunberg responded on Twitter with …
“Yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com.”
yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com https://t.co/V8geeVvEvg
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) December 28, 2022
Tate uploaded a video responding to Thunberg’s mockery while smoking a cigar and eating a pizza. The only problem was that the pizza box was from a local pizza chain, which alerted Romanian authorities of his whereabouts and they swooped in to arrest him.
The former kickboxer rose to fame in 2016 when he entered the Big Brother house but was soon removed after a video circulated of him hitting a woman with a belt.
Tate said the video had been edited, calling it “a total lie trying to make me look bad.”
Since then, he went on to gain notoriety online, with Twitter banning him for saying women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted.
He has been banned from other social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. TikTok banned him with a warning that “misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated.”
A number of his posts promote misogyny and target women. The BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring said earlier this year that his content had “raised concerns about the real-world effect it could have.”
Tate has yet to respond to the charge.
Thank you for confirming via your email address that you have a small penis @GretaThunberg
The world was curious.
And I do agree you should get a life ❤️ https://t.co/mHmiKHjDGH pic.twitter.com/SMisajQRcf
— Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) December 28, 2022
