Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate, who is being held with his brother in Romania, has threatened legal action against at least one of the women who accused him of rape and human trafficking. According to the BBC, a US law firm representing the Tate brothers sent a "cease-and-desist" letter to the unnamed woman's American lawyer in December. The letter included a threat to sue the woman and her family for $300 million if she didn't take back her accusations.
"In April 2022," the letter reads, "you falsely stated to a third party that our Client human trafficked you, abused you and held you against your will [...] You have repeated false and defamatory statements to the police, the media, and another United States citizen about the Tate brothers," it adds as per the outlet.
Mr Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian citizens were arrested by prosecutors last year in December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group to exploit women. The former kickboxer and others have denied the allegations, a stance he maintains on Twitter - which he has continued to use since he has been imprisoned.
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Speaking to the BBC, the lawyer of the woman threatened with being sued, Benjamin Bull, said that his client is a key witness in the Romanian investigation and that the letter was meant to silence her.
"[It] was intended to shut down the witness; stop the witness from bringing testimony forward in any proceedings," Mr Bull said, adding, "They want these young ladies to climb into a hole and hide, never come forward [or] describe what they saw and what happened to them. It's clearly an effort to intimidate."
Separately, lawyers for the Tate brothers told the outlet that the cease-and-desist letter was sent in December, as a civil matter for defamation and slander in the United States, but deny any intimidation. They also revealed that the brothers filed criminal complaints in Romania last April against two women as well, including the witness who received the cease-and-desist letter in December.
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Mr Bull said that the legal action had been upsetting and intimidating for his clients, while his colleague Dani Pinter warned that her clients were also receiving harassment online for speaking out. "Regular, high production value videos, meant to embarrass and harass them, are shared among Tate's followers," she said, adding that the two alleged victims she represents are "scared to death" and "both in hiding", feeling unable to "settle anywhere, because people are trying to find them".
