Young Republicans Group Invites Accused Sex Trafficker Brothers to Speak: ‘As Free Speech Absolutists…’
AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File
The Tampa Bay Young Republicans tweeted an invitation to Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan to come speak to their group, drawing swift criticism for the outreach to the men currently facing charges for human trafficking and related offenses in multiple countries.
The Tates are facing a growing list of legal problems, including criminal indictments in Romania and the UK and lawsuits filed by British women accusing Andrew Tate of rape and severe abuse. The brothers have amassed gigantic online followings; just on X alone they have 14 million followers between them. They are widely credited in MAGA world for helping convince young men to vote for President Donald Trump, but have also been loudly criticized by prominent conservative voices for their misogynistic content, bragging about abusing and demeaning women, including some who were underage.
But that criticism is not universal across the right. Prominent conservative influencers have come to their defense, citing free speech grounds and praising their ability to sway young men to the GOP, and the Trump administration reportedly lobbied the Romanian government to lift the Tates’ travel restrictions.
Andrew and Tristan Tate flew to the U.S. and landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Thursday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis denounced the Tates when reporters asked about their imminent arrival in his state, and said flat out that “Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct.” The governor added that his administration had “no involvement” in the brothers coming to Florida and was “not notified,” finding out about it through the media.
DeSantis added that he had directed Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (his former chief of staff whom he appointed as AG to replace Ashley Moody, whom he appointed to the U.S. Senate to replace Marco Rubio, whom Trump appointed Secretary of State) to investigate “what state hooks and jurisdiction we may have to be able to deal with this.”
Uthmeier was on board, telling reporters Thursday afternoon, “Florida has zero tolerance for human trafficking and violence against women. If any of these alleged crimes trigger Florida jurisdiction, we will hold them accountable.” He also said that he had directed his office to work with state law enforcement “to conduct a preliminary inquiry into these individuals.”
TBYR took the opposite view from their Republican governor, posting a tweet with a warm welcome for the Tate brothers, tagging their usernames and inviting them to come speak to the group.
“TBYR formally welcomes [Andrew Tate] & [Tristan Tate] to Florida. As free speech absolutists, the Tate’s haven’t been formally convicted of any crimes and are welcome to speak to our group,” the tweet said. “We’re old enough to remember when a *’Convicted Felon.’* won the Presidency. #Freestate”
The tweet drew immediate and sharp condemnation from other conservatives. One Republican Florida state legislator, when reached for comment by Mediaite, replied in a text message saying the TBYR tweet was “definitely not OK.”
“You’ve lost your way boys,” was podcaster Megyn Kelly’s take, echoed by many other right-leaning voices in Florida and across the country.
Rachel Streve, the former chair of the Houston Young Republicans, tweeted that she understood the draw because “controversy’s a cheap thrill,” but this was “rolling out the red carpet for a pair of self-styled pimps and predators,” making her ponder “what broke in your heads to greenlight this.”
“Platforming trafficking suspects and porn peddlers doesn’t make you free speech rebels—it makes you look desperate and dumb,” she added. “I genuinely hope you’ll ditch the graphic, delete the post, and figure out why you thought this was a win.”
The TBYR tweet was denounced by Florida Young Republicans Chair Brandon Ludwig, who wrote that his organization had “never limited speech or opinions of our chapters” because “we’ve never had to. Our job is to champion conservative values & deliver wins for the GOP.” He added that it was “disturbing to see @TBYR undermine that for clickbait; they don’t speak for myself or our state.”
The Florida YRs followed up with a tweet stating “We rebuke and condemn” the TBYR invite for the Tate brothers “in the strongest possible terms,” adding that TBYR “has a long history of controversy and we believe this most recent action is worthy of its charter being revoked.”
DeSantis’ communications director Bryan Griffin refuted the TBYR claim this was about free speech, tweeting “It’s not a matter of speech. It’s a matter of conduct” — adding that the Tates’ “admissions alone are repugnant.”
A selection of other reactions from the right:
TBYR was unfazed by the backlash, posting a few replies insulting their critics and defending the invite as “[p]latforming the most googled man on Earth.”
Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat who recently announced she is running for Orlando mayor when she finishes her term-limited time in the House, reacted with shock and revulsion when she was sent the TBYR tweet. “The Tates are disgusting individuals who have bragged about raping women; they should be nowhere near Florida and it’s sad some Republicans embrace and welcome their violent anti-women extremism,” she told Mediaite.
This article has been updated with additional information.
