Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking on Andrew Tate.
The state attorney general has launched a criminal investigation into the British-American manfluencer and his brother Tristan, both of whom arrived in Florida last week after being released on human trafficking charges in Romania.
The announcement led Tate to brag that investigators will not be able to convict him because he deletes all the data off his electronics.
“Come get me, arrest me, perp walk me, put me on the news,” he angrily said during an interview with Candace Owens posted on Wednesday afternoon. “Tell everyone I’m a human trafficker.”
“You think I’m not ready?” he continued. “F—ing 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, 38, told Owens that Florida authorities seized his electronics as they investigate him for unspecified wrongdoing — and that he is innocent of any crime.
Tate claimed that DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier are targeting him because they’re afraid of him.
“They fear me so heavily,” he told Owens. “They fear me because of my political influence. I can galvanize the masculine youth in any direction that I believe fit.”
He also speculated that DeSantis, in particular, was concerned that Tate would oppose the upcoming candidacy of his wife, Casey, who is rumored to be eying a run for governor.
But a source in DeSantis’s office tells The Post that the governor is unmoved by Tate’s taunts.
“If Andrew Tate believes that the governor has some sort of personal fear or vendetta against him, he’s delusional,” says the high-level source. “The governor doesn’t give a damn about his supposed ‘influence.’ He is just trying to make sure justice is served.”
Uthmeier launched a criminal investigation into the widely-condemned conservative influencer and brother Tristan, announcing on Tuesday that he’s sought subpoenas and search warrants in the brothers’ case.
A “preliminary inquiry” was conducted into the Tate brothers.
Andrew and Tristan, 36 — who have together amassed millions of fans among boys and young men on social media — are accused of putting together a criminal ring that exploited women in the European country and were arrested in late 2022. Andrew, a former professional kickboxer and proud self-professed misogynist, was also accused of rape.
The duo have denied wrongdoing. After pressure from the Trump administration, travel restrictions were recently lifted by Romanian officials that allowed the Tate brothers to reach the US, but they will need to return if summoned by judicial authorities.
One of the alleged victims in the Romanian case is from Florida. She has accused the Tates of luring her to Romania under the false pretense of a romantic relationship. When she arrived in the country, she says, she was pressured to work as a pornographic model.
It’s unclear if these allegations are part of the Florida investigation. In a Tuesday press conference, Uthmeier declined to give details, but pledged to use “every tool” to bring the Tates to justice.
“These guys themselves have publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, and preying upon women around the world,” he told reporters.
“They can spin it however they want, but in Florida this type of behavior is atrocious. We’re not going to accept it.”
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