Misogynist right wing influencer Andrew Tate was arrested alongside his brother in Romania on Thursday, as part of an investigation into human trafficking. And adding an extra layer of humiliation to the serious legal problems he faces, it appears Tate’s failed attempt to start a social media fight with climate activist Greta Thunberg may have helped authorities locate him.
The Romanian Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism announced the arrest in a statement, though the statement didn’t identify the suspects. Tate’s attorney has since confirmed his arrest. According to Romanian authorities the brothers were arrested as part of a probe into what they say is a criminal organization involved in trafficking women.
4 individuals total were arrested, and authorities say at least 6 women were held captive by the suspects, sexually assaulted and forced to perform in pornographic videos.
According to local media, the scheme involved Tate and his brother luring women they met on social media to their home and then imprisoning them there. They ended up on law enforcement radar when one of their victims, an American woman, somehow managed to get her location information to a boyfriend who then brought the matter to the U.S. embassy. During the raid, several women, including one American and a woman from Moldova, were rescued.
Tate, a former professional kickboxer, is more famous as a right wing influencer who promotes an aggressively sexist ideology. He was banned from Twitter in 2017 after posting comments that blamed women for being raped, though his Twitter account was reinstated after Elon Musk purchased the site.
Hilariously, Tate appears to have led authorities to him because of his renewed activity on Twitter. His arrest comes just one day after he made an absolutely pathetic attempt to stoke a twitter beef with climate activist Greta Thunberg. Early Wednesday morning, he tweeted directly at her, bragging about his numerous cars. Tate also asked for Thunberg’s email address.
Thunberg’s response was brutal, and succinct: “”Yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com.”
That was the last thing she had to say on the matter. Nevertheless, Tate seemed obsessed with her, as he tried for more than 10 hours to get her attention again. This culminated in an embarrassing video during which he accidentally showed a box from a local pizza chain — which revealed his location. Whoops.