Andrew and Tristan Tate mount legal challenge against ongoing detention amid UK extradition fight

Andrew and Tristan Tate have mounted a legal challenge against their continued detention as they fight their extradition to the UK to face rape and sex trafficking charges.

The social media influencers have petitioned a Miami court in a bid to secure their release on bail.

The move comes after US judge Lauren Louis ruled last month that the pair must remain in custody pending their extradition hearing for which no date has yet been set.

At the time, she said the Tates “have failed to meet their burden to demonstrate that they do not present a risk of flight or danger to the community, or that special circumstances warrant their release”.

It currently means they will remain behind bars in Miami during what could be a lengthy legal process aimed at securing their removal to Britain.

The former professional kickboxers, who hold dual US and British citizenship, have been held in custody since their arrest in July.

They were detained after more charges were brought against them by UK prosecutors relating to alleged offences between July 2010 and August 2017.

The Tates argue their ongoing detention without bail is unconstitutional and dispute they represent a flight risk.

The brothers’ lawyer, Joe McBride, said: “Andrew and Tristan are American citizens with no criminal history, and they have spent every day since July 18 in the special housing unit at FDC (federal detention centre) Miami, without a single disciplinary infraction, at the request of a foreign government, on allegations about a decade old.”

He added: “My clients are innocent, and they intend to vindicate their names in a British court. Until then, the constitution of the United States governs their detention. Live free or die.”

Earlier this week, court documents were released which set out the prosecution case against the Tates.

UK investigators allege the pair groomed vulnerable women using a “lover boy” model of exploitation before forcing them into creating online pornography through threats and violence.

The brothers have denied any wrongdoing.

The Tates are deeply divisive figures who built a massive online following – mainly among young men and boys – to whom they have been accused of promoting misogyny and toxic masculinity.