Self-described misogynist and former kickboxer Andrew Tate has been photographed for questioning in Romania after being released from custody last month.
Tate was seen today with his brother Tristan outside the offices of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Bucharest, forensically examining electronic equipment seized during investigations.
Wearing a beard, hoodie and sunglasses, the controversial 36-year-old influencer was photographed making his way through a crowd of photographers to the office building, where prosecutors have been examining electronic equipment seized while investigating his case . He was later seen leaving the building.
He and his brother were placed under house arrest in Romania on March 29 after being arrested last year. They had been detained since December 29 on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group to exploit women.
Brothers and alleged accomplices Georgiana Naghel and Luana Radu will remain under house arrest until April 29 after winning an appeal to be released from prison.
Self-declared misogynist and former kickboxer Andrew Tate arrives for questioning in Romania after being released from custody last month
Tate was seen outside the offices of the Directorate for Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Bucharest today with his brother Tristan (pictured).
The controversial 36-year-old influencer, dressed in a beard, hoodie and sunglasses, was photographed making his way through a crowd of photographers to the office building, where prosecutors examined electronic equipment seized during the investigation
None of the four have yet been formally charged and are still under investigation.
The defendants had unsuccessfully appealed their detention several times over the past four months, but they won an appeal on March 31 to be transferred from police custody to house arrest.
Tate has maintained his innocence since his release from prison.
During the influencer’s appearance at the DIICOT offices on Monday, a spokesperson for the Tate brothers told MailOnline that the interview was a routine part of the investigation.
“Andrew and Tristan Tate visited DIICOT earlier today as a routine visit to assist authorities with the investigation,” the spokesperson said.
“No charges have yet been filed against the brothers and they are extremely focused on refuting these trumped up allegations.”
Prosecutors have already searched several devices since their arrest.
As the Tates left the DIICOT offices on Monday, they were met by a throng of media outlets and a handful of supporters shouting “Top-G, Top-G!” scanned. – one of the nicknames used by fans.
When asked how he feels, Tristan Tate told reporters, “I’m always okay. I was okay in prison, now I’m okay.”
Mr Vidineac told the Associated Press prosecutors seized “a lot of equipment” in the case and they are “still looking for the information even now”.
“Because they are under arrest, even home detention, the searches (are) mandatory in their presence,” he said.
“The prosecutor is doing his job, we respect the task of the prosecutor, of the authorities, we let them do the investigation… and we wait for the results.”
Since his release from police detention, Andrew Tate’s Twitter followers have risen by at least 500,000.
The influencer’s appearance on Monday came after he posted a bizarre post on Twitter, telling Elon Musk – the platform’s owner – to “escape” the Matrix.
Responding to an image shared by the billionaire from the 1999 movie in which Musk alluded to the pettiness of arguing with strangers on the platform, Tate responded to the world’s second-richest man by writing, “You need to escape.”
Tate often refers to a conspiracy involving the concept of “The Matrix” as a global conspiracy attempting to control the world. He introduces himself as someone who will help people get out of this ‘control’.
There is no evidence that such a conspiracy exists.
His quirks at DIICOT also come after a message last week suggesting he be killed as part of this global plot.
“Preparing my body to absorb the brutal kinetics of piercing lead,” he wrote, along with a shirtless photo of himself, presumably at his Romanian home.
“While all other attempts to silence it fail and Phase 3 approaches, I expect that a bullet will be the means of choice for pacification,” he wrote. “I can only pray and prepare. I will force myself to breathe as best I can. I promise.’
On April 2, the controversial content creator said in an email to his fans that he thought he would never be released. “When you really believe you’ve been screwed, the system is against you and you never get out of it, a strange sense of calm comes over you.”
“When I accepted that I might never get out of prison, I felt BETTER. Isn’t that insane?’
He said Romanian law enforcement officials “decided when I woke up, when I slept, when I ate and where I went.”
Andrew Tate arrives at the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), in Bucharest, Romania, April 10
Andrew Tate leaves the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), where prosecutors examined electronic equipment seized while investigating his case, in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, April 10
In the email, Tate urged his subscribers to realize they were also “not free” and living “INSIDE of the Matrix.”
“In your life, your boss decides when you wake up and when you eat and your couch decides where you go.”
A statement from the brothers after their release read: “We are ecstatic to announce that the Romanian justice system has approved Andrew and Tristan Tate’s appeal of last week’s extension decision.
They will be placed under house arrest during the investigation. We are grateful to the judge and courts for allowing the brothers to return home.
“Both brothers look forward to being reunited with their families in Romania and would like to thank all the supporters who have stood by them during this time.
“They will continue to fight to clear their names of these fabricated accusations; however, this is a big step in the right direction.’
Tate took to Twitter on April 1 to share a video of him pacing back and forth, smoking, under house arrest.
He wrote: ‘Since last year ive [sic] Been in lockdown for 24 hours. No site time.
‘Pacing a 3 meters [sic] cell without electronics or external contact.
Andrew Tate, left, enters his home during a visit by Romanian police officers to verify their presence at the site, on the outskirts of Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 1, 2023
A samurai statue on the grounds of Andrew and Tristan Tate’s ‘Hustlers University’, where they are under house arrest, in Bucharest on April 1, 2023
‘Absolute clarity of mind. Real thoughts. Real plans. Living pain.’
Tate was previously banned from the social media site Twitter, but reinstated by Musk after the billionaire bought it late last year.
In January, he said he was allowed to contact fans via email for the first time from prison.
He wrote that he was left in a cell with no light, with cockroaches and bedbugs as his “only friends at night.”