Far-right influencer Andrew Tate sent a cryptic tweet on Sunday amid local media reports that one of the two Tate brothers had been hospitalised in Romania.
Mr Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan Tate remain in custody in Romania after they were detained under human trafficking and rape charges. It is unclear whether the tweet was sent by Mr Tate himself or by someone else controlling his account.
The tweet read: “The Matrix has attacked me. But they misunderstand, you cannot kill an idea. Hard to Kill.”
The account also shared a link to a news item by a Romanian news outlet, Spy News, which reported on the hospitalisation.
The report mentioned that the hospital visit took place after the brothers were given routine medical checks in jail, but did not clarify which one of the brothers was involved.
On 29 December, Romanian authorities raided the Tates’ properties in Bucharest and detained the brothers and two Romanian suspects.
Mr Tate and his brother have reportedly been under investigation since April.
All four suspects, including Mr Tate, will be held for 30 days after a judge extended their initial detention period of 24 hours, Ramona Bolla, of anti-organised crime agency Diicot told the media. She said the decision was not final and the suspects may appeal.
Romanian prosecutors claim that Mr Tate and other suspects held multiple women against their will and forced them to perform sex acts while being filmed.
The arrest of Mr Tate took place soon after he had boasted about his car collection and their huge emissions to climate activist Greta Thunberg. Her response to him went viral.
Andrew Tate’s Twitter account, which was reinstated after Elon Musk took over the social media platform, continues to post despite the influencer being under arrest in Romania. In a separate tweet on 2 January, Mr Tate wrote: “My unmatched perspicacity coupled with sheer indefatigability makes me a feared opponent in any realm of human endeavour.”
Meanwhile, the Romanian authorities seized the Tate brothers’ collection of cars estimated to be worth over €5m, as well as a number of buildings including one where the brothers lived and allegedly held six young women.
Mr Tate, a former kickboxer turned misogynist influencer, gained infamy after he briefly appeared on the UK’s reality TV show Big Brother – where he referred to married women as “property” that their husbands own.
In footage where Mr Tate talks about feminism, the former kickboxer claims women should “shut the f*** up, have kids, sit at home, be quiet and make coffee”.
