Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan will be released from custody and moved to house arrest, a Romanian judge ruled Friday, March 31, according to the BBC.
The controversial men’s rights personality, along with his brother and two associates — Georgiana Naghel and Luaana Radu — have been detained since Dec. 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organized crime group. The investigation is still ongoing, and no one has been charged yet. (Radu and Naghel were released Friday.)
The Tates, Radu, and Naghel will reportedly have to stay in the buildings where they live unless given permission by the court to leave the premises. A spokesperson for the Tate brothers said they were “ecstatic” by the news.
“They will be placed under house arrest while the investigation continues. We are appreciative of the judge and courts for allowing the brothers to return home,” the statement read.
“Both brothers are looking forward to being reunited with their families in Romania and want to extend their thanks to all the supporters who have stood by them during this time,” the spokesperson added. “They will continue to fight to clear their name of these fabricated accusations; however, this is a big step in the right direction.”
The Tates were initially detained for 24 hours after their arrest, but on Dec. 30, a judge granted prosecutors’ request to extend that arrest period for 30 more days. The Tates and their co-defendants tried to appeal that extension in early January but were rebuffed by the Bucharest Court of Appeal. They were denied bail again last month.
The house arrest release comes shortly after Rolling Stone published an in-depth investigative report that uncovered how Tate’s misogynistic empire was based on a flimsy pyramid of half-truths and embellished claims. The investigation dove into Tate’s career through interviews with former girlfriends, associates, and other sources revolving around him throughout his rise.
“I don’t necessarily believe a word he says. I don’t trust a word he says,” a source close to Tate’s reality-TV career told Rolling Stone. “Now, he feels he has to say [these things] because there’s a huge army of little weirdos out there who want him to … [but] he’s just one of them guys. He’s a liar. He’s not trustworthy. It’s all a myth. It’s all a lie that he’s making himself believe.”