Far-right social media personality Andrew Tate is raising eyebrows online after stating that he "wipes" his cellphone of "evidence" every night.
The remark, made during a Tuesday interview with right-wing commentator Candace Owens, came shortly after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that Tate and his brother Tristan were under criminal investigation.
"Come get me, arrest me, perp walk me, put me on the news, tell everyone I'm a human trafficker," Tate said. "You think I'm not versed? You think I'm not ready? I'm a Navy SEAL in this shit. Fucking come get me, raid my house, take my stuff. You think I sleep with a phone full of evidence? You don't think I wipe my phone every night? You think I'm dumb?"
Tate, who is awaiting trial on human trafficking and rape charges in Romania, landed in Florida on Thursday. Despite previously being banned from leaving the country, Tate was permitted to travel internationally after Romania was reportedly pressured to lift the restrictions by U.S. officials.
Prior to Tate's comment about wiping his phone, Uthmeier revealed in a statement on X that search warrants had already been issued for both brothers.
"Last week, I directed my office to work with our law enforcement partners to conduct a preliminary inquiry into Andrew and Tristan Tate," the attorney general said. "Based on a thorough review of the evidence, I’ve directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers."
Although the subject of the investigation was not specified, Uthmeier later added that "Florida has zero tolerance for people who abuse women and girls. We will not allow it.”
In a Tuesday post on X, Tate also said that his device had been taken by law enforcement soon after landing in Florida.
In response to the phone-wiping remarks from Tate, who is also wanted in the U.K. over allegations of rape and human trafficking, users on social media immediately questioned what exactly he meant.
"Andrew Tate, innocent men don't need to wipe their phone every night," one user said.
Others also argued that Tate's alleged actions may do little to deter investigators, who could use forensic tools to recover deleted data.
"Andrew Tate must be the stupidest man to exist if he thinks this, just because you wipe your phone doesn’t mean whatever has been deleted can’t be found again especially if it’s in the case of law enforcement," one user said. "They will literally just bypass you and go to the manufacturer."
Tate said police would only find pictures of the "beautiful women" he's sleeping with and expressed anger that he was temporarily kept from "shitposting" on X.
It remains unclear how long Tate will stay in Florida. Tate and his brother have denied all the charges against them.
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The post ‘You think I’m dumb’: Andrew Tate brags Florida investigation won’t stick because he always deletes ‘evidence’ appeared first on The Daily Dot.
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