key points
- Controversial social media personality Andrew Tate was detained and charged in Romania on Thursday
- There is speculation online that Tate's Twitter exchange with climate activist Greta Thunberg led police to him.
- Authorities deny the connection and say the arrests were the result of a months-long investigation.
This article contains references to rape and sexual abuse.
A Twitter exchange preceded a high-profile house raid and arrest of a right-wing provocateur and influencer, but authorities deny the arrest was a result of social media.
On Thursday, former kickboxing champion and controversial social media personality Andrew Tate, along with his brother Tristan, was detained and charged with human trafficking and forming an organised crime group.
The brothers were detained in Romania along with two Romanian suspects, and if convicted, they could serve years of prison time.
One of the four suspects was also charged with rape but has not been named.
The brothers were detained for an initial 24 hours, with prosecutors then petitioning the court to extend their detention.
On Friday, a Romanian court confirmed the detention would be extended by 30 days.
The arrests came after a Twitter war between Mr Tate and climate activist Greta Thunberg, with many speculating that the social media exchange led to the arrest.
Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism told the Washington Post that a months-long investigation led to the Tate brothers' arrest.
Prosecutors said the Tate brothers had been under criminal investigation since April, Reuters reported.
"The four suspects ... appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost," the prosecutors said in a statement late on Thursday.
"They would have gained important sums of money."
What happened between Andrew Tate and Greta Thunberg?
On Tuesday, Mr Tate, 37, tweeted at the 19-year-old to brag about his cars.
"I have 33 cars," Mr Tate tweeted. "Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions."
Ms Thunberg quipped back on Twitter, saying Mr Tate could enlighten her by sending his list to "[email protected]".
As of Friday morning, Ms Thunberg's response holds the No. 6 spot of all-time top-liked tweets with 3.4 million likes.
Mr Tate replied again on Wednesday with a video that showed him in a red robe, smoking a cigar and holding two boxes of pizza.
The next day, his luxury villa was raided, and photographs and video footage showed Mr Tate being escorted in handcuffs by law enforcement.
Though authorities deny a connection between the Twitter feud and Mr Tate's arrest, internet sleuths speculated that Mr Tate's video response to Ms Thunberg — which revealed a local pizza chain's branding — served as a tip on his whereabouts and continued to joke about the timing of how things unfolded.
Mr Tate's talent agent told the Washington Post that the allegations of human trafficking were "an orchestrated hoax put on by the matrix".
A spokesperson for the brothers declined to comment on the situation.
"Andrew and Tristan Tate have the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always assist and help in any way they can," the spokesperson said.
On Friday morning, Ms Thunberg responded to the arrest.
"This is what happens when you don't recycle your pizza boxes," she wrote on Twitter.
Who is Andrew Tate?
Mr Tate returned to Twitter in November after being banned in 2017 for violating its term of service when he tweeted that rape victims "bear some responsibility".
The British-American kickboxer-turned-influencer promotes an opulent, violent, "playboy" lifestyle where he portrays himself as a man who "gets what he wants", imploring other young men to subscribe to his teachings.
In August this year, he was banned from YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok after violating the platforms' hate speech policies.
Before the bans, domestic violence advocates voiced concern over the "misogynistic" and "violent" messaging being shared in his videos.
Women are property, can’t drive, and only deserve to be resuscitated when they’re "hot", were some of the messages shared in now-deleted videos of Mr Tate.
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