Mcbride Jos E S Q

andrew tate

ingrassia

tucker

UAE

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nyt

By Megan Twohey and Isabella Kwai

The reporters interviewed dozens of people in Romania, the United States and Britain and reviewed court documents, emails and text messages. They welcome tips at nytimes.com/tips.

Published Dec. 10, 2025

Updated Dec. 11, 2025

Days before Donald J. Trump’s return to the White House, Andrew Tate got some good news.

Mr. Tate and his brother, Tristan, swaggering influencers in the so-called manosphere, had been under criminal investigation in Romania since 2022, accused of coercing women into pornography. Andrew was also accused of rape and of having sex with and beating a 15-year-old. The brothers, American and British citizens, had been barred from leaving Romania while prosecutors built their case.

Now, in a Jan. 14 text message, Mr. Tate indicated that help was on the way.

“I had word from The Trump admin that theyre on top of things,” Mr. Tate wrote to someone close to him, in a message reviewed by The New York Times. “Ive been told ill be free soon but Trump needs to see me in Miami,” he added.

The next month, an extraordinary order came down from the highest levels of the Romanian government, a Times investigation found. The prosecutors were told to find a compromise with the Tates. Despite their misgivings, they lifted the travel restrictions, a move that Romania’s prime minister thought would appease the Trump administration.

“We’re massively back,” a grinning Mr. Tate announced in a video recorded for his followers on Feb. 27, as a private plane whisked the brothers to Florida.

Their arrival in the United States opened a rare rift among conservatives and raised suspicions over whether the White House had intervened. The Times found that support from Trump administration officials played a crucial role.

Interviews with dozens of people in Romania, the United States and Britain, as well as a review of hundreds of pages of court documents and private messages, offer the fullest account yet of how the Tates rose from a fringe corner of the internet to become a cause célèbre on the right. The brothers’ release from Romania was the culmination of a yearslong effort by Andrew to forge alliances with Mr. Trump’s advisers and family members.

The Tates have helped propel a brazenly chauvinistic movement around the world, even as they racked up allegations of human trafficking and physical violence in multiple countries. They deny criminal wrongdoing. But Andrew, 39, and Tristan, 37, have boasted about recruiting women to make lucrative sexual content, and have sold courses teaching young men how to follow in their footsteps.

Interview with Andrew Tate conducted by Anthony Dream Johnson and posted to YouTube in 2019.

As his notoriety grew, Andrew Tate shrewdly courted Tucker Carlson and other media stars of the right, who in turn tapped into the brothers’ loyal following to expand their own reach.

Andrew also nurtured relationships with Donald Trump Jr. and his younger brother Barron, who recognized the role that young male voters could play in their father’s return to power.

Barron, now 19, admired Andrew, and spoke with him over Zoom last year, according to Justin Waller, a mutual friend who was on the call. During the call, they discussed their shared belief that the Romanian criminal case was an effort to silence the Tates, he said.

After Mr. Trump’s re-election, some of the Tates’ supporters ascended into the new administration. One of them, the diplomatic envoy Richard Grenell, twice discussed their case with Romanian officials, The Times found.

Within days of the second conversation, the Romanian prosecutors received their marching orders and handed the Tates the freedom to travel — after long arguing that the brothers were a public danger and a flight risk. The prosecutors were outraged, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

The brothers’ liberation rattled many American diplomats, who feared a shadowy new era of foreign relations. And it prompted hostility from many traditional conservatives, from Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, to the commentator Megyn Kelly, who said, “This actually is toxic masculinity.” Some likened the Tates to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Their return also led to a new assault allegation, from a girlfriend who said Andrew beat and strangled her shortly after his arrival in the United States. Prosecutors declined to bring charges, but she has filed a lawsuit against him and has been granted a restraining order. He is suing her for defamation.

In a statement to The Times, the Romanian prosecutors’ office said that the country’s constitution requires them to operate independently and that their actions in the Tates’ case have been legal. Marcel Ciolacu, who was the prime minister when the Tates were released, did not respond to requests for comment.

An official with the White House said it has no knowledge of and is not involved in anything related to the Tates’ legal matters. The official did not respond to questions about Barron. Donald Trump Jr. did not respond to a request for comment.

The Tates’ lawyer said The Times’s findings about Andrew and Barron were “fake news.”

After more than two years of confinement, the brothers have used their newfound freedom to resume their jet-setting lifestyle and juice their brand. They have visited Kanye West, partied poolside with beautiful women and promoted their business to chanting fans.

“I’m in Dubai, I’m still rich, all I do is win,” Andrew said in a video posted in April that shows him driving off in a Bugatti.

But their legal problems haven’t gone away. The Romanian case is moving forward, and once it’s finished, the brothers will face charges of human trafficking and rape in Britain.

And in the United States, The Times found, anti-trafficking agents at the Department of Homeland Security have been investigating the Tates for years.

ImageAndrew Tate, in a half-unbuttoned animal-print shirt, sits in a crowded audience beside Tristan Tate, in a fuchsia blazer.

Andrew and Tristan Tate at a fight in Las Vegas in March, part of their U.S. visit after their release from Romania.Credit...Mikael Ona/ZUMA Press Wire

Riding Outrage to Money and Fame

Andrew Tate found modest fame as a professional kickboxer in the 2010s, but as he tells it, he didn’t start making real money until he and his brother went into pornography.

By 2015, the Tates had installed women in apartments and a hotel room in Britain, to perform live on webcams for paying customers. Andrew later described how the brothers romanced attractive women, coaxed them into the business and took most of the profits.

“It’s not just about picking up girls,” Mr. Tate said in an interview posted to YouTube. “It’s about converting them into really loving you enough to moving in with you and working for you and giving you all the money.”

Both brothers had run-ins with the British police. Tristan was arrested in 2014 after a woman reported he had assaulted her.

The next year, Andrew was arrested three times, the police said. One woman who had worked for him said in court documents that he strangled her during sex; another said he had raped, beaten and pulled a gun on her; a third woman said he had raped and strangled her while they were dating.

Authorities did not charge either brother. But Andrew said the scrutiny prompted him to leave Britain.

One day, he recalled on a podcast years later, he woke up and said, “I will not live under a government that will do this to me when I’ve done nothing wrong.” He and Tristan moved to Romania, a country they had gotten to know through the professional fighting circuit. There, Andrew said on another show, “you can get away with shit you can’t get away with in the West.”

With Romania as their new home base, the brothers ran their webcam business from there and in Britain.

When Andrew was cast for the British reality show “Big Brother” in 2016, few knew about his business or the assault allegations.

He was soon fired, however, after a tabloid obtained a video of him whipping a girlfriend with a belt. They both said it was consensual.

The scandal boosted his fame, especially on social media, where he became a fierce supporter of Mr. Trump. Donald Trump Jr. liked one of his supportive Twitter posts and they soon agreed to meet, Mr. Tate recalled on a podcast. He went to Trump Tower in 2017.

“We still inbox each other every couple of days,” Mr. Tate said on the podcast, in 2018.

By 2022, he and Tristan had gained millions of followers by preaching mental and physical discipline, entrepreneurship and the subjugation of women. They had expanded the porn business to TikTok, OnlyFans and other platforms, and were selling their courses to young men. One offering was called PHD, for “pimping hoes degree.” Over the previous eight years, they had earned at least 21 million pounds (nearly $28 million), according to records from a British court that found they had evaded taxes.

Interview with Andrew Tate conducted by James English and posted to YouTube in 2021. Mr. Tate discusses his beliefs about the inferiority of women.

When Andrew was kicked off several social media platforms and decried by high school teachers, it only increased his notoriety. He became one of the most searched people on Google.

In December 2022, the brothers were arrested in Romania and, with court approval, jailed for three months. Prosecutors later charged them with forming an organized criminal group and trafficking seven women, and charged Andrew with rape.

The 360-page sealed indictment, obtained by The Times, said the Tates had tricked the women into believing they were in long-term relationships, then coerced them into pornographic work. The brothers had put them under surveillance, restricted their movements and docked their pay if they cried on camera or broke other rules, prosecutors said.

Text messages cited in the indictment show Andrew Tate and one woman discussing what would happen if she went to Romania.

Woman

do you want me to be your slave or your wife?

Andrew Tate

you'll do whatever I tell you

which is the same thing

if I choose a woman to be my wife, she'll love me enough to let me tell her what I feel like

I WILL DECIDE if she's a slave

Once she arrived, he raped her twice, on one occasion forcing her into group sex, the indictment said.

Andrew choked another woman so hard that blood vessels in her eye burst, prosecutors said.

In a text-message chat titled “PIMPS,” Tristan and two associates discussed how to punish a woman who said she would no longer work for them.

Tristan Tate

The move now is as follows.

Associate 1

ok

Tristan Tate

both of you go, get her out of the house

Associate 2

Ok

Tristan Tate

hit her if you have to, I don't care

don't let her take her things

Associate 2

thanks

Ok

The woman was pushed down and dragged out of the house, she and witnesses told prosecutors.

Romania, long known as a hub for sex trafficking, has expanded prosecutions to include so-called Lover Boy cases based on romance, psychological coercion and threats. The indictment against the Tates acknowledged that two of the women cited as victims said they didn’t see themselves that way. Prosecutors said evidence showed that they were.

Press releases announcing the arrest, the indictment and the ensuing restrictions on the Tates’ movements made headlines around the world. But Mr. Tate, facing the prospect of prison, didn’t retreat from the controversy. He used it.

From Tucker to Barron

After his arrest, Mr. Tate hired Joseph D. McBride, a lawyer who had defended Trump supporters accused of insurrection at the Capitol. In short order, Mr. McBride pitched his brash new client to the conservative host Tucker Carlson.

In some ways, it was an odd pairing. Mr. Carlson was a proud husband who promoted Christian family values. But he had been ousted from Fox News after lawsuits exposed offensive language in his private messages to colleagues. He was building his own show on Twitter. And Mr. Tate, who had been reinstated on the platform by Elon Musk, had millions of followers there.

In an interview with The Times, Mr. McBride recalled telling Mr. Carlson that if he flew to Romania for a sit-down with Andrew, “I know we’ll break the internet.”

Image

A black car pulls up to a modern black-and-red building displaying a samurai statue and signs that read “security guard” and “Tate.”

The Tates’ compound in Romania.Credit...Daniel Mihailescu/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

He was right. The 2023 interview, recorded at Mr. Tate’s luxury home on the outskirts of Bucharest, has drawn more than 112 million views.

They spent much of the two-and-a-half-hour conversation discussing their shared beliefs, including what they saw as a left-wing war on masculinity. Mr. Carlson didn’t press Mr. Tate on his porn operation or his previous comments about exploiting women.

Mr. Carlson misrepresented the criminal allegations in Romania, saying that they involved no sex crimes or violence, or any actions that could be considered trafficking.

“That’s not actually human trafficking,” Mr. Carlson said of the charges. “I don’t care what you call it, you weren’t buying, even accused of buying and selling anyone.”

Asked recently about the interview, Mr. Carlson told The Times, “If I misstated their indictment or got the facts wrong, I sincerely apologize.”

He added, “It doesn’t change my view that the Tates, whatever their personal behavior, had a message worth hearing.”

Interview with Andrew Tate conducted by Tucker Carlson and posted to Twitter in 2023.

The interview helped burnish Mr. Tate’s reputation. Charlie Kirk, the conservative youth organizer and Trump adviser, was among those who tuned in.

“Now I see why he’s popular,” Mr. Kirk said on his podcast. While he expressed disgust over Mr. Tate’s pornography business, he agreed that masculinity was under siege. “He is hitting on something that you’re not allowed to say, where there’s a lot of truth to it.”

Candace Owens, another popular podcaster, flew to Romania and conducted her own sympathetic interview of Mr. Tate. She told her audience it was a mistake to judge him for his past comments or the ostentatious content he posted.

“This is how guys have fun,” she said, “the same way that girls sit around and talk about ‘Real Housewives.’”

In other interviews, Mr. Tate drew parallels that he saw between himself and Mr. Trump: both booted from social media, both criminally prosecuted, both victims of political attacks.

In September 2023, Mr. Trump shared on Truth Social, his social media platform, a video of Tristan defending him. “Thank you!” Mr. Trump wrote.

Mr. McBride, the brothers’ lawyer, pressed their case in meetings with members of Congress, according to an interview he gave to the Republican operative Roger Stone. Mr. McBride said both male and female lawmakers were “outraged” at the brothers’ treatment.

Don Jr. showed support, too. “You’ve got people attacking you as far as I’m concerned,” he told Mr. Tate in a June 2024 conversation live-streamed on X, the renamed Twitter platform. “They just want to silence you.”

Image

Barron Trump, wearing a dark overcoat and slicked-back hair, stands with one fist raised as people around him smile and clap.

Barron Trump admired Andrew Tate and spoke with him by Zoom last year, according to a mutual friend.Credit...Eric Lee/The New York Times

His younger brother Barron was also a fan.

That spring, as his father was going after young male voters on the campaign trail, the teenager hosted a dinner at Mar-a-Lago for influencers. Among them was Mr. Waller, who has helped run the Tates’ courses and told The Times he is widely seen as the “third brother.”

The conversation that night meandered, Mr. Waller said, from “calling each other degenerate names” to discussing potential running mates for Mr. Trump, who also made an appearance and agreed to go on the podcast of another guest, Patrick Bet-David.

Mr. Waller has tried to play a “big brother” role for Barron, he said, visiting Mar-a-Lago and talking to him about dating. The president’s youngest son is “not a bad ally to have — let’s be frank,” he said.

He and Barron spoke to Andrew over Zoom last year, Mr. Waller said, while the teenager was having a suit fitted by Mr. Waller’s tailor. Although they discussed the Romanian case, Barron did not say anything about helping the Tates, Mr. Waller said. They also talked about supporting Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign on their online platforms.

That summer, when a young man tried to assassinate Mr. Trump, Mr. Tate told reporters that he had talked to Barron after the shooting.

“I’m very close to the Trump family,” he added. “I look forward to, once I am free, being with Donald Trump in person and reminding him that he’s a bulletproof badass.”

Allies Ascend

When Andrew texted in January that the Trump administration was “on top of things,” he didn’t name names.

But several of his supporters had found roles in the incoming government.

Paul Ingrassia, who was initially named White House liaison to the Justice Department, had once been part of the Tates’ legal team. Alina Habba, a counselor to the president who would later serve a brief stint as New Jersey’s top prosecutor, told Andrew on a podcast in January that “I got your back over here.”

Image

Richard Grenell Alina Habba, seated next to each other amid a crowd, wearing suits and neutral expressions.

Richard Grenell, center, and Alina Habba (wearing glasses) at a Senate confirmation hearing in January.Credit...Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

And Mr. Grenell, a special presidential envoy, privately discussed the Tates’ case with Romanian officials, The Times found.

At Mar-a-Lago last December, he met Victor Ponta, an adviser to Romania’s prime minister.

Mr. Ponta had traveled to Mr. Trump’s Florida club to make inroads with the president-elect’s inner circle, he told The Times in an interview in Bucharest. His country was in a defensive crouch for its handling of a presidential election. Its highest court had tossed out the first round of votes, citing evidence that Russia had meddled on behalf of the winner, a far-right candidate. Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk, among other American conservatives, accused Romania of undermining democracy.

Mr. Ponta sensed that informal diplomacy would be a big part of the incoming Trump administration. And Mr. Grenell, who would soon negotiate the release of several American detainees in Venezuela, was already positioning himself as a forceful operator.

When asked by The Times whether he and Mr. Grenell discussed the Tates’ case, Mr. Ponta affirmed that they had. “Maybe he saw himself as releasing all the American hostages around the world,” he said, without elaborating further.

Last month, Mr. Ponta backpedaled. In a text exchange with The Times, he said he didn’t recall whether he and Mr. Grenell had talked about the Tates. He then said he was sure they had not.

Mr. Grenell also discussed the Tates’ case in mid-February, with Romania’s then foreign minister, Emil Hurezeanu, when they crossed paths at a security conference in Munich, as first reported by The Financial Times.

Mr. Grenell disputed the characterization of the encounter, saying in a statement to The Times that it had become exaggerated in media accounts. “I simply ran into him in the hallway,” he said. The foreign minister asked him if he stood by an old tweet showing support for the Tates, he said, and he replied yes. “I have never met the Tate Brothers, I’ve never been to Romania,” Mr. Grenell said. His statement did not address the Mar-a-Lago conversation.

Soon after the Munich conference, the prime minister posted on social media that the United States had not made any requests or demands on Romania.

‘The Tate Escape’

By then, the Tates’ legal problems were snowballing.

In Britain, the women who had accused Andrew of rape and assault a decade earlier were suing him in civil court. And prosecutors had authorized trafficking and rape charges against the brothers based on allegations involving three other women.

In America, Homeland Security anti-trafficking agents had been conducting interviews about the Tates, according to people familiar with the confidential investigation. The agents were working with federal prosecutors who would go on to win the conviction of Sean Combs, the music mogul known as “Diddy.” Both offices declined to comment.

In Romania, a judge had invalidated the 2023 indictment, citing procedural mistakes. But the prosecutors were trying to correct them and move forward with a case.

They had presented evidence that, since 2014, the brothers had between them coerced more than 30 other women, including a 17-year-old, into their pornography operation, court records show.

Mr. Tate was also accused of having sex with a 15-year-old and trying to bribe her to stay quiet. She told investigators he had beaten her with a belt and choked her until she passed out, according to the documents.

The Tates have denied all criminal wrongdoing and Andrew has contested the civil claims.

They said the new women cited in the Romanian investigation did not consider themselves trafficking victims. And they argued that being confined without an indictment violated their rights.

They got their break in late February. The order came down instructing prosecutors to negotiate with them, according to two people familiar with the move who were not authorized to discuss it. The prime minister believed the Trump administration would be happy with the outcome, a third person said.

On Feb. 25, the Tates officially requested to have their travel restrictions removed.

In a text message the next day, Mr. Tate shared his long-sought victory with someone close with him.

Andrew Tate

I have very details instructions from the americans about crossing borders, phones, passports etc. I cant say more. This goes into instant effect.

In the early hours of Feb. 27, the brothers drove to the airport, as documented in a video titled “The Tate Escape.” They beamed at each other as the plane took off for Florida.

When asked that day whether the Trump administration had aided in the Tates’ release, their lawyer, Mr. McBride, told The Times: “Do the math. These guys are on the plane.”

The Tate brothers shared this video with their followers on Rumble this year.

A Rift on the Right

From the moment they arrived on U.S. soil, the Tates encountered pushback.

Their electronic devices were confiscated by border control officials. Mr. Ingrassia, by then the White House liaison to Homeland Security, tried and failed to have their phones returned, ProPublica reported. (Mr. Ingrassia denied the account.)

That night in Miami, the brothers celebrated over cigars with Mr. Waller, he said. But public backlash was mounting, even among some prominent conservatives.

Megyn Kelly and Ben Shapiro denounced the Tates. Some Republican leaders spoke out, too.

“I certainly don’t think that we should be using any influence in our government to try to get him out of what seemed to be extremely serious charges in Romania,” Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri told HuffPost, referring to Andrew.

After Mr. DeSantis said the brothers were not welcome in Florida, the state’s attorney general announced a criminal investigation of them.

This actually is toxic masculinity, people. This is the real version of it.

Megyn Kelly

Right-wing commentator

America does not need more self-proclaimed pimps.

Ben Shapiro

Right-wing commentator

Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct in the air.

Ron DeSantis

Governor of Florida

As the right-wing rift over the Tates cracked open, Mr. Stone, the Republican operative, deleted an X post saying Mr. Grenell had secured their release. Ms. Habba said that she had “no part” in lifting the Tates’ travel ban.

And Mr. Trump had already said he knew nothing about it.

In mid-March, the brothers flew back to Romania for a court appearance. One of Andrew’s then-girlfriends, Brianna Stern, told the police in Beverly Hills he had assaulted her before he left. On social media, she shared several of his text messages.

Andrew Tate

i really love hitting you its very good for me

and you

its relaxing dont you think

?

Brianna Stern

pookie no i cry

Prosecutors declined to bring charges, citing insufficient evidence. Ms. Stern is suing Andrew, and he has countersued, claiming defamation. He and Tristan are also suing a woman in Florida who is cited as a victim in the Romanian investigation.

In recent months, Andrew has continued to weigh in on American politics, including calling for “civil war” after Mr. Kirk’s assassination. But while he and his brother have flown in and out of Romania, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, they have not returned to the States.

Many of his allies have stopped publicly defending him.

An exception is Nick Fuentes, a rising voice known for his antisemitic and sexist rhetoric. He and Mr. Tate, both critics of Israel, have lavished each other with praise.

Mr. Tate may not be a paragon of Christian morality, Mr. Fuentes said in an October interview with Mr. Carlson. “But men are going with him because he’s putting women in their place.”

Image

Andrew Tate, walking outside in a dark hoodie, turns his face to the camera and grins.

Andrew Tate returned to Romania in March for a required check-in with authorities.Credit...Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press

Matei Barbulescu contributed reporting. Produced by Eli Murray.

Photo credits for illustration: Robert Ghement/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (Tate brothers); Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press (Donald Trump Jr.); Pool photo by Chip Somodevilla (Barron Trump); Gage Skidmore/ZUMA Press Wire (Candace Owens); Bill Bowden/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Joseph McBride); Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press (Tucker Carlson); Kenny Holston/The New York Times (Alina Habba); Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images (Richard Grenell).

Megan Twohey is an investigative reporter at The Times. Her work has prompted changes to the law, criminal convictions and cultural shifts.

Isabella Kwai is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news and other trends.

See more on: Andrew Tate, U.S. Politics, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Richard Grenell, Tucker Carlson

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AN PP 11 25

Online influencer Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist who has millions of young male followers, was facing allegations of sex trafficking women in three countries when he and his brother left their home in Romania to visit the United States.

“The Tates will be free, Trump is the president. The good old days are back,” Tate posted on X before the trip in February — one of many times he has sung the president’s praises to his fans.

But when the Tate brothers arrived by private plane in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, they immediately found themselves in the crosshairs of law enforcement once more, as Customs and Border Protection officials seized their electronic devices.

This time, they had a powerful ally come to their aid. Behind the scenes, the White House intervened on their behalf.

Interviews and records reviewed by ProPublica show a White House official told senior Department of Homeland Security officials to return the devices to the brothers several days after they were seized. The official who delivered the message, Paul Ingrassia, is a lawyer who previously represented the Tate brothers before joining the White House, where he was working as its DHS liaison.

In his written request, a copy of which was reviewed by ProPublica, Ingrassia chided authorities for taking the action, saying the seizure of the Tates’ devices was not a good use of time or resources. The request to return the electronics to the Tates, he emphasized, was coming from the White House.

The incident is the latest in a string of law enforcement matters where the Trump White House has inserted itself to help friends and target foes. Since entering office for a second term, Trump has urged the Justice Department to go after elected officials who investigated him and his businesses, and he pardoned a string of political allies. Andrew Tate is one of the most prominent members of the so-called manosphere, a collection of influencers, podcasters and content creators who helped deliver young male voters to Trump. And news of the White House intervention on behalf of the accused sex traffickers comes as Trump is under fire over his ties to notorious child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his administration’s recent efforts to stop the public release of the so-called Epstein files.

Ingrassia’s intervention on behalf of Tate and his brother, Tristan, caused alarm among DHS officials that they could be interfering with a federal investigation if they followed through with the instruction, according to interviews and screenshots of contemporaneous communications between officials.

One official who was involved and spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid facing retribution said they were disgusted by the request’s “brazenness and the high-handed expectation of complicity.”

“It was so offensive to what we’re all here to do, to uphold the law and protect the American people,” the person said. “We don’t want to be seen as handing out favors.”

It’s unclear why law enforcement wanted to examine the devices, what their analysis found or whether Ingrassia’s intervention hindered any investigation. The White House and DHS declined to answer questions about the incident.

But law enforcement experts said it is highly unusual for the White House to get involved in particular border seizures or to demand authorities give up custody of potential evidence in an investigation.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that in my 30 years working,” said John F. Tobon, a retired assistant director for Homeland Security Investigations, which typically analyzes the contents of electronic devices after they’re seized by Customs and Border Protection. “For anyone to say this request is from the White House, it feels like an intimidation tactic.”

Tobon said that even if authorities resisted the request from Ingrassia, knowledge that the White House opposed their actions could cause them to be less aggressive than they would normally be: “Anytime somebody feels intimidated or as if they’re not free to follow procedure, that’s going to stay in the back of their mind because of the consequences. In this administration the consequences are different, people are getting fired.”

Samuel Buell, a Duke University law school professor and former federal prosecutor, called the pressure on behalf of the Tates “another data point” in the White House politicizing law enforcement.

“This is not something that would have been viewed as appropriate or acceptable prior to 2025,” Buell said. “There’s a pattern here of severe departure from preexisting norms … that are being tossed aside left and right.”

The Tate brothers’ lawyer, Joseph McBride, said he didn’t know what happened to the devices but that his clients have still not had them returned. He said it’s unclear whether any investigation into their contents is continuing.

His clients, he said, are innocent and there was no illicit materials on their electronics. “There have been multiple investigations against them and nothing has come of it,” McBride said.

Ingrassia worked at McBride’s firm before joining the White House, and McBride acknowledged speaking “to Paul from time to time” but couldn’t recall discussing the seized devices with him. Ingrassia, he said, has never given the Tates special treatment since joining the Trump administration.

The White House declined to answer questions about whether Ingrassia was acting on his own or representing the White House’s wishes.

In a brief interview with ProPublica, Ingrassia denied trying to help the Tates, before hanging up. “There was no intervention. Nothing happened,” he said. “There was nothing.”

Ingrassia’s lawyer, Edward Paltzik, said in a text message: “Mr. Ingrassia never ordered that the Tate Brothers’ devices be returned to them, nor did he say — and nor would he have ever said — that such a directive came from the White House. This story is fiction, simply not true.”

When questioned about whether Ingrassia had asked authorities to return the devices, even if he did not order them to, Paltzik declined to comment, explaining that “the word ‘ask’ is inappropriate because it is meaningless in this context. He either ordered something or he didn’t. And as I said, he did NOT order anything.”

A DHS spokesperson did not respond to specific questions about the intervention or any impact it might have had on an investigation, only saying in a statement that Customs and Border Protection “performed a 100% baggage examination and detained all electronic media devices when the Tate Brothers entered the country. Electronic media devices were detained and turned over to Homeland Security Investigators for inspectional purposes.”

Ingrassia’s work at McBride’s small New York law firm included helping to represent the Tate brothers. He has praised Andrew Tate’s “physical prowess” on social media along with his “willpower and spirit,” calling him “the embodiment of the ancient ideal of excellence.”

Ethics experts said when government officials take actions to benefit former clients, it undermines public trust.

“The rule of law cannot be carried out if it depends on cronyism,” said Virginia Canter, a former government ethics lawyer who served in the administrations of both parties. “To have a member of the White House interfere when they’ve had a prior client relationship and some sort of personal relationship, that gives rise to questions of impartiality.”

Trump had nominated Ingrassia to lead the Office of Special Counsel, but the 30-year-old lawyer’s chances for Senate confirmation imploded after Politico reported that he had sent a string of racist text messages to fellow Republicans and described himself as having “a Nazi streak.” Paltzik, his lawyer, raised doubts about the authenticity of the texts but said “even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor.”

In a post on X announcing he was withdrawing from his Senate confirmation hearing because not enough Republican lawmakers were supporting him, Ingrassia said he would “continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again.”

Last week, Ingrassia announced he was moving to a new role within the administration, after Trump called him into his office and asked him to serve as deputy general counsel at the General Services Administration.

It’s unclear what prompted authorities to seize the Tates’ property, but the bar for searching electronic devices is significantly lower for those entering the U.S. compared with those already in the country, even if they are citizens.

After the seizure, the contents were examined by federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations, according to the official involved. A Homeland Security official, who asked for anonymity because they didn’t have permission to speak publicly, confirmed that HSI agents scrutinized the contents.

The Tates left the United States in late March.

No criminal charges have been filed against the brothers in the United States, though a lawyer representing four anonymous defendants sued by them in Florida filed court papers this year suggesting that federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York were investigating the pair. No other details have become public, and a spokesperson for the prosecutors’ office declined to comment.

In an interview with conservative podcaster Candace Owens soon after landing in Florida, Andrew Tate revealed his devices had been seized, saying they were taken after he refused to give customs officers his passwords.

Tate, who was born in the U.S. but spent much of his childhood in Britain before moving as an adult to Romania, complained that his rights were violated, calling himself “one of the most innocent people on the planet.”

And he said law enforcement officials wouldn’t find anything on his devices: “You think I sleep with a phone full of evidence? You think I don’t wipe my phone every night? You think I’m dumb? Come get me.”

In that interview, Tate made no mention of a White House official intervening on his behalf and seemingly misidentified state authorities in Florida as responsible for taking his devices.

Shortly after the Tates landed on Feb. 27, Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that Florida authorities had launched an investigation into the brothers. Uthmeier said his office had “secured and executed subpoenas and warrants” and called the brothers’ behavior “atrocious.”

“These guys have themselves publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world,” he said at the time. “We’re not going to accept it.”

The status of the Florida investigation is unclear. A spokesperson for the Florida attorney general declined to comment for this article.

Allegations of sexual abuse and violence have swirled around Andrew Tate for almost as long as he’s been in the public eye. In 2016, Tate was booted off the cast of the British version of the “Big Brother” reality series around the time a video emerged of him whipping a woman with a belt. Tate said he and the woman were joking.

Tate’s profile only rose afterward, and he began amassing a following as a self-help guru for young men. He quickly aligned himself with Trump’s then-young MAGA movement.

“The tate family support trump FULLY. MAGA!” he posted on social media after meeting with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower in 2017.

Tate moved to Romania a year after his brief foray in reality TV, in part, he said, because he believed authorities there investigate sex crimes less aggressively.

“I’m not a … rapist but I like the idea of being able to do what I want,” he said.

But in 2023, prosecutors in Romania accused the Tates of operating a criminal group that trafficked women, including some who alleged the brothers led them to believe they were interested in relationships but instead forced them into filming online pornographic videos. Prosecutors also said they were investigating allegations that the Tates trafficked minors. Andrew Tate was charged with rape. The Tates have denied the allegations, and the initial charges against them were sent back to prosecutors by a court because of procedural issues.

The Tates face similar allegations in Britain. Authorities there authorized a raft of charges against the brothers, including rape and human trafficking, based on allegations from three women. In 2024, arrest warrants were issued for the brothers, who have denied wrongdoing, but authorities said they would not be extradited to the United Kingdom until criminal proceedings in Romania were completed.

A woman has also sued the Tates in Florida, accusing them of luring her to Romania to coerce her into sex work. The Tates have denied the allegations, and last month a judge dismissed most of her claims but allowed for her to refile.

This year, Tate derided the allegations against him and compared himself to Trump on X. “Romania? No case UK? No case USA? No case,” he posted on X. “Lawfare? – Im one of the most mistreated men in history beside president Trump himself.”

The intervention on behalf of the Tates was not the first time those around Trump took an interest in legal issues involving the brothers.

In February, Romania’s foreign minister said that presidential envoy Richard Grenell told him at an international security conference in Germany that he remained interested in the fate of the Tates. “I did not perceive this statement as pressure,” the foreign minister, Emil Hurezeanu, said, “just a repeat of a known stance.” Grenell told the Financial Times that he had “no substantive conversation” with Hurezeanu but supported “the Tate brothers as evident by my publicly available tweets.”

---

politico jan 6? see liars

Joseph McBride, an incendiary attorney who represents several Jan. 6 riot defendants, appeared on behalf of committee witnesses Alexander Bruesewitz and Ali Alexander.

---

politico

By Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu01/06/2023

The Jan. 6 select committee repeatedly raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest by some of the lawyers representing crucial witnesses in their investigation — particularly those paid by Trump-friendly entities.

The concerns were brought into sharp relief during their late-November interview with Wisconsin State House Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican who declined to answer any questions on how he came to be represented by Edward Greim, a Federalist Society-affiliated lawyer who also represented at least six other committee witnesses.

In a tense exchange with the panel’s vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Greim told Vosin his interview not to answer Cheney’s questions about legal representation. “The committee has no business knowing that, has no business inquiring into this,” Greim interceded.

The committee investigators highlighted their unresolved questions about witness representation in their final report but left ultimate judgment about potential conflicts or witness evasiveness to the public.

POLITICO reviewed the nearly 300 witness transcripts released by the Jan. 6 select committee to identify the lawyers most frequently tapped by the panel’s witnesses. Here’s what we found:

Frequently tapped attorneys

Lawyers from a small handful of firms each represented five or more of the select committee’s witnesses. They are:

David Warrington and Michael Columbo (The Dhillon Law Group):Attorneys David Warrington, Michael Columbo and several others represented 11 of the panel’s witnesses, including several central figures in the probe.

Among them was Donald Trump himself, who fought a committee subpoena in court. Others included former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Trump White House personnel adviser Johnny McEntee, Trump political adviser Katrina Pierson, “Stop the Steal” rally organizers Amy and Kylie Kremer, and Trump election day operations director Michael Roman.

Other witnesses: Laura Cox, Zach Parkinson, Kathy Berden and Charles Bowman.

Daniel Benson and Jonathan Gonzales (Kasowitz Benson), eight clients:This New York-based firm, which has counted Trump as a client in the past, represented key figures from the Trump White House, including adviser Eric Herschmann, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner. Ivanka Trump’s chief of staff Julie Radford and aide Rachel Craddock were also repped by the firm. Two of Trump’s Oval Office aides, Molly Michael and Austin Ferrer, employed Kasowitz Benson as well. Trump campaign lawyer Alex Cannon was also a client

Stefan Passantino and (Michael Best), seven clients: Passantino represented Cassidy Hutchinson, who later switched lawyers and accused him of trying to suppress crucial information — an accusation he and his allies dispute. Passantino also represented Beau Harrison, a Trump White House aide present for some of the same exchanges that Hutchinson described, Trump campaign adviser Joshua Findlay and John Isakson, who dropped out of Trump’s effort to solicit false electoral college certificates in Georgia.

Other witnesses: Madixon Fox Porter, Jacqueline Kotkiewicz, Douglas Sellers

Ed Greim and Paul Brothers (Graves Garrett), seven clients:Witnesses represented by this Missouri-based firm include Vos, Trump Justice Department aide Ken Klukowski, Trump White House official Bobby Peede and Jan. 6 rally organizer Justin Caporale.

Other witnesses: Robert Gabriel, Arina Grossu, Angela McCallum

Todd Steggerda and Emily Kelley (McGuire Woods), eight clients:These attorneys primarily represent figures connected to the Republican National Committee, including Chair Ronna McDaniel and her chief of staff Richard Walters.

Other witnesses: Hanna Allred, Austin Boedigheimer, Kevin Zambrano, Mike Reed, Michael Ahrens and Cassie Docksey.

Robert Driscoll and Alfred Carry (McGlinchey Firm), five clients:McGlinchey’s clients all played notable roles in the select committee’s investigation. They included Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller, Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer, Georgia pro-Trump alternate elector Shawn Still, former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.

Unrepresented witnesses

Nearly three-dozen witnesses opted to appear before the select committee without personal counsel. They included Oath Keepers adviser Kellye SoRelle, Proud Boy George Meza, D.C. Police commander Robert Glover, former Melania Trump chief of staff Stephanie Grisham, and filmmaker Nick Quested. Most of these witnesses were cooperative and not combative with investigators. Many of them were current or former government officials, who appeared alongside agency counsel. Those include Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and former acting U.S. attorney for Washington D.C. Michael Sherwin.

Other notable attorneys

Emmet Flood, who was in the Trump White House counsel’s office amid the Mueller investigation, represented two witnesses — Kellyanne Conway and Marc Short. William Burck, a mainstay of earlier Trump-focused congressional probes, represented Mike Pompeo. John RowleyandJohn Irving represented Cleta Mitchell and Rep. Scott Perry. Charles Burnham represented John Eastman and Jeffrey Clark. George Terwilliger represented Mark Meadows, and his son Zach Terwilliger represented at least two other White House figures: Kayleigh McEnany and Amy Swonger.

Timothy Parlatore, who like Rowley represents Trump in Jan. 6 matters before the federal grand jury, represented two key witnesses before the committee: Doug Mastriano and Bernard Kerik. Joseph McBride, an incendiary attorney who represents several Jan. 6 riot defendants, appeared on behalf of committee witnesses Alexander Bruesewitz and Ali Alexander. A.B. Culvahouse represented Greg Jacob, and Robert Costello represented Rudy Giuliani.

Seth Moulton on his Senate bid, Venezuela and the Epstein files | The Conversation

Filed Under:

• Federalist Society
• Donald Trump
• Legal
• Jan. 6 Capitol riot

---

rs

Extreme supporters of Donald Trump are spreading the word to remain non-violent at the protests of his indictment in Miami — less because violence is unjustified and more because they believe the demonstrations are a trap, set by the feds, to snare MAGAdonians in Jan. 6-style legal trouble.

On his Telegram channel Tuesday, Ali Alexander — the infamous organizer of the Stop the Steal rallies and the officially-sanctioned protests on Jan. 6 — shared a letter from attorney Joseph D. McBride, who has represented many Jan. 6 defendants in Federal Court. “Protest peacefully,” Alexander advised: “Take it from one of my many patriot lawyers!”

McBride’s open letter — titled an “ADVISORY for JUNE 13, 2023, MIAMI PROTESTS” — hyped up the demonstrations as “the most consequential Trump-related event” since the unrest at the Capitol, but insisted: “You must proceed with caution, because political dissent is viciously persecuted in Joe Biden’s America.”

McBride warned: “Agitators, provocateurs, and crisis actors have been deployed to ruin the day,” adding that “although you are peaceful your political adversaries are not.” McBride insisted that the Department of Justice, “wants throngs of arrests to justify the false assertion that Donald Trump is a violent leader and that you, his political opponents, should be imprisoned because you are dangerous.”

McBride’s Jan. 6 client list includes the man filmed putting his feet up on a desk in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Alexander, whom McBride prepped for his hours-long deposition before the Jan. 6 Committee. Reached through his law office on Tuesday morning, McBride insists “I have evidence” to back up his crisis-actor claims, but said he could not share it because he was “protecting my sources.”

McBride alleges to Rolling Stone,“We have intelligence that groups are on the ground, and that people are going to sow discord.” And when pressed on this assertion, McBride insisted, “I am not a conspiracy theorist. I’m deeply concerned person who doesn’t want to see people get fucked by the government,” adding that he “doesn’t trust the government as far as I can spit.”

His final message to MAGA protesters: “Don’t take the bait.”

These fringe theories may have been seeded by a sitting member of Congress.

McBride’s letter cites, and echoes the substance, of a wild, June 11 statement from GOP Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana: “They want J6 again, in Miami,” he warned of the Department of Justice and FBI. “They want MAGA conservatives to react to this… and in doing so, set yourselves up for targeted persecution and further entrapment.” In a related tweet, Higgins suggested the media are in on the plot, and he implored Trump’s followers: “do NOT trip the wire they’ve laid for you.”

Higgins has recently become infamous. On the day of Trump’s indictment, the congressman alleged on Twitter that the legal action was “a perimeter probe from the oppressors,” and advised his followers to “buckle up” and “know your bridges” — interpreted by many as a call to prepare for civil unrest.

The latest far-right messaging feeds off a widespread belief among the MAGA faithful that Jan. 6 itself was, at least in part, a setup, with FBI agents and Capitol Police supposedly masquerading as protesters and duplicitously goading (inherently righteous) MAGA protesters into illegal actions. This theory built off earlier, debunked, conspiracy theories blaming the Jan. 6 violence on Antifa agitators.

Messaging to avoid violence because of potential federal entrapment is also filtering down into the fever swamps. At the ultra-MAGA message board, The Donald, commenters responded to a popular post titled, “Trump Urges Miami Indictment Protesters to Stay Peaceful” with a long string of messages alleging that under-cover feds would be in the crowd, stirring up trouble.

“Too bad the FEDS deployed will not be heeding the advice of POTUS45,” reads the top comment in the thread, followed by a warning from user “PapaPepe” that the “Fed front is gearing up.” A user named “RobbyTheRedneck” chimed in: “Remember, the FBI wants a violent riot. They will be there pushing for it and opening doors. Be careful. Leave your cell phones behind and turned off.”

When a commenter posted a message that went against the grain, and seemed to encourage a fight — “If your movement wants to make change it has to get over its fear of violence” — others pounced on the poster as though he were a fed. “Agent, we see your kind here all the time, and somehow you think you are stealthy,” wrote one. “You are not.”

In this article:

• clay higgins,
• conspiracy theory,
• Donald Trump,
• The Donald

---

Joseph D. McBride - Wikipedia

11 25

joseph Daniel McBride (born June 30, 1978) is an American criminal defense and civil litigator, media personality, and international consultant. He founded The McBride Law Firm in 2019 and is widely known for his representation of Andrew Tate and those charged during the January 6 United States Capitol attack, including Richard Barnett.^[1][2]

Raised in Brooklyn, McBride graduated from law school in 2014 and spent several years in Manhattan representing defendants as a legal aid attorney. Following the January 6 Capitol attack, he represented a number of those involved in the event, and appeared on behalf of U.S. House Select Committee witnesses.^[3]

He has worked as an attorney and counselor at his New York City law firm since 2019.^[4]

Early life and education

McBride was educated at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice where he graduated with a political science and history degree in 2011. He graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University with a J.D. in 2014.^[4]

According to McBride, he was inspired to become a lawyer after his adopted brother, Anthony, was pressured into pleading guilty or facing 10 years imprisonment for a crime he claims his brother did not commit.^[5]

Career

McBride founded The McBride Law Firm, PLLC, and has served as an attorney and counselor at the firm since 2019.^[4] He also received the Avvo Client's Choice Award in 2019. In addition, he is a partner at Power Dynamic Strategies (PDS), a US-based consulting firm with a significant presence in the United Arab Emirates.^[5]

January 6 clients: DOJ prosecutions

Richard Barnett

McBride became an advocate for those charged during the January 6 Capitol attack. He also operates the January 6th Legal Fund for the legal needs of his clients involved in the events of January 6.^[6] McBride took Richard "Bigo" Barnett as his client, an Arkansas window installer who put his feet on a desk in the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on January 6, 2021. In April 2021, a judge released Barnett from pretrial detention,^[7] deeming him not dangerous enough to remain in jail; this followed a federal appeals court ruling in March that made it harder for the Department of Justice to keep those not accused of assault or planning an attack to stay imprisoned.^[8][9]

In March 2021, after an incident at a virtual hearing with U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper in which Barnett became frustrated because of his pretrial detention, McBride defended his client in a statement to NBC News: "Mr. Barnett's frustration stems from the fact that he is incarcerated pre-trial, despite lacking any criminal history...Normally, facts like these are more than enough for an individual to fight their case from the outside."^[10]

Barnett was eventually found guilty of all charges and was sentenced to serve 54 months in prison.^[11]

Ryan Nichols

McBride also represented January 6 defendant Ryan Nichols, who was released from pretrial detention by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan in November 2022 after 20 months of imprisonment.^[12] McBride had spent months filing motions for Nichols' release from pretrial detention, and complained that officials at a correctional facility in Washington, D.C. had stolen a thumb drive containing attorney-client privileged information, a claim contested by Judge Hogan.^[12] However, Hogan concluded that Nichols had issues with access to discovery, and that the facility holding him in Rappahannock, Virginia was not suited for the large amount of digital video evidence he had to review for his trial, and agreed to release him.^[12][13]

Nichols was eventually found guilty of all charges and sentenced to serve 63 months in prison.^[14]

Christopher Quaglin

In March 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden claimed that McBride had misled the court during the trial of January 6 defendant Christopher Quaglin about the qualifications of another lawyer to whom he was transferring the case.^[15][16] However, McFadden declined to discipline McBride, and only admonished him with a statement.^[17][18] In April 2022, Quaglin had filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and jail superintendent Ted Hull treated him with "malicious indifference."^[19][20][21] As reported in Law & Crime that month, McBride noted that since Quaglin's arrest a year prior he had been transferred to half a dozen different facilities, and said: "The intensity and duration of his mistreatment grows worse with each transfer."^[19]

Quaglin was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 144 months in prison.^[22]

January 6 clients: Select Committee

McBride also appeared on behalf of January 6 select committee witnesses Alexander Bruesewitz and Ali Alexander, as reported by Politico in January 2023.^[3]

Keith Raniere

"There is a system of laws and procedures set in place and if somebody's going to lose their trial, it's got to be a fair trial. They've got to lose on the facts, by the rules."

—Joseph D. McBride, 2021^[23]

McBride worked as a defense attorney on the legal team of NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere.^[24][25][26] In 2021, before Raniere's appeal to the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, McBride expressed concern with how the FBI was handling the case.^[24] In a February 18, 2021 appearance on the Law & Crime Network, he said: "We have a lot of questions about the FBI's work in this case. People here were hurt on some level but the question...is about proving each element of each crime beyond a reasonable doubt. We don't think that the government did that in this case."^[27][28]

McBride also spoke to Channel 13 news in Tucson, Arizona about the case in February 2021, stating: "There is a system of laws and procedures set in place and if somebody's going to lose their trial, it's got to be a fair trial. They've got to lose on the facts, by the rules."^[23]

Views

McBride was described by the Washington Examiner as a supporter of Donald Trump.^[29] He has accused the FBI of discriminating against Catholics and compared defendants accused of crimes during the January 6 attack to Jesus.^[30] From January 3 to 5, 2023, McBride undertook a three-day fast on behalf of the January 6 detainees.^[31] excommunicated Catholic ex-Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò sent McBride a letter voicing support for the fast and stating: "I can only encourage and bless this commendable gesture of penance."^[31][32]

McBride is pro-life and voiced strong support for the U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson decision in June 2022.^[33]

In May 2022, he spoke against prolonged solitary confinement on his Twitter account, stating that it "violates a prisoner's human rights every time it is used," and thanked U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert for opposing the punishment of January 6 detainees during pretrial confinement.^[34]

Media

McBride has appeared on Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News, among other outlets.^[5][non-primary ^source ^needed] He was featured on Part 3 of Tucker Carlson's Patriot Purge, a three-part series that concluded in November 2021.^[5][non-primary ^source ^needed] On March 9, 2023, McBride appeared with Donald Trump Jr. on an episode of Trump's online video series Triggered.^[35][non-primary ^source ^needed] While appearing on Tucker Carlson's program, McBride said that a man whose face was obscured by red paint at the January 6 attack was "clearly a law enforcement officer"; a HuffPost reporter later produced evidence showing the man to be fan of the St. Louis Cardinals.^[36]

References

1. Levenson, Michael (2023-01-23). "Jury Convicts Man Who Posed With Boot on Desk in Pelosi's Office". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-01-24. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
2. "Florida opens criminal investigation into Tate brothers". www.bbc.com. 2025-03-05. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
3. Cheney, Kyle; Wu, Nicholas (January 6, 2023). "Who repped who in the Jan. 6 probe: A look at the frequently used witness lawyers". Politico. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
4. "Joseph Daniel McBride: Resume". Avvo. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
5. "Our Team | THE MCBRIDE LAW FIRM, PLLC". McBride Law NYC. Archived from the original on 2023-06-19. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
6. "January 6th Legal". McBride Law NYC. Archived from the original on 2023-06-19. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
7. DePaolo, Joe (2021-07-20). "'TORTURE! TORTURE! TORTURE!' CNN's John Avlon Cuts Off Wild Interview With Capitol Riot Lawyer Screaming About Jail Conditions". Mediaite. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
8. Polantz, Katelyn (April 28, 2021). "Man who put his feet on desk in Pelosi's office during Capitol riot to be released from jail pending trial | CNN Politics". CNN. Archived from the original on 2023-01-24. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
9. Polantz, Katelyn; Cohen, Marshall; Rabinowitz, Hannah; Budd, Malika (March 26, 2021). "Appeals court ruling paves way for release of alleged Capitol rioters with extremist ties, but at least one Oath Keeper will stay in jail | CNN Politics". CNN. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
10. Madani, Doha (March 4, 2021). "'Not fair!': Man who put feet on desk in Pelosi's office has outburst at hearing for Capitol riot". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-06-19. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
11. Feuer, Alan; Montague, Zach (2023-05-24). "Jan. 6 Rioter Who Reclined in Pelosi's Office Given Sentence of More Than 4 Years". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
12. Cheney, Kyle (November 10, 2022). "Jan. 6 defendant who posted violent diatribes granted pretrial release". Politico. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
13. Longview News Journal Staff (November 12, 2022). "Jan. 6 defendant Ryan Nichols granted pretrial release". CBS 19. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
14. Texas Man Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach. United States Attorney Office, District of Columbia
15. Fischer, Jordan (March 24, 2023). "Judge threatens to refer Jan. 6 defense attorneys for discipline over trial delays". wusa9.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
16. "Judge slams lawyers for slowing jailed 1/6 defendant's case". AP News. 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
17. Richer, Alanna Durkin (April 21, 2023). "Judge scolds 1/6 lawyer, but won't seek disciplinary action". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
18. Richer, Alanna Durkin (April 21, 2023). "Judge scolds 1/6 lawyer, but won't seek disciplinary action". Federal News Network. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
19. Sarnoff, Marisa (April 27, 2022). "New Jersey Man Charged with Assaulting Police Officer Caught in Doorway Crush on Jan. 6 Sues DOJ Over 'Mistreatment' in D.C. Jail". Law & Crime. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
20. "QUAGLIN v. GARLAND et al". Justia Dockets & Filings. Archived from the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
21. "QUAGLIN v. GARLAND, 1:22-cv-01154 - CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Archived from the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
22. New Jersey Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During Jan. 6 Capitol Riot. US Attorney's Office, District of Columbia
23. Coleman, Mary (February 17, 2021). "NXIVM leader Keith Raniere serving 120-year sentence in Tucson as attorneys prepare for appeal". www.kold.com. Channel 13 KOLD. Archived from the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
24. Mercury, Anna (February 21, 2021). "Raniere Appellate Lawyers Speak Out About His Appeal". Frank Report. Archived from the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
25. Gavin, Robert (February 15, 2021). "NXIVM leader Keith Raniere recovering from coronavirus". Albany Times Union. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
26. Bruno, Giuliana (February 17, 2021). "As NXIVM leader's lawyers plan appeal, victims continue healing process". ABC 10. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
27. Kalmbacher, Colin (February 19, 2021). "Here's What We Know About Convicted NXIVM Sex Cult Leader's Legal Strategy to Appeal 120-year Sentence". Law & Crime. Archived from the original on 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.

28.. Youtube.com. February 18, 2021. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.

29. Poff, Jeremiah (2023-04-05). "Christians warn against 'absurd' comparison of Trump Holy Week arrest to Jesus". Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
30. Roche, Darragh (2023-02-18). "Attorney for series of Jan. 6 rioters compares their fight to Jesus". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2023-05-27. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
31. Human Events Media Group (December 31, 2022). "EXCLUSIVE: Archbishop Vigano Calls for 3-Day Fast for Jan 6 Detainees". Human Events. Archived from the original on 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
32. "Top Catholic archbishop urges three-day fast for Jan. 6 defendants | Just The News". justthenews.com. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
33. "Joseph D. McBride, Esq". Twitter. June 25, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-07-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
34. "Joseph D. McBride, Esq". Twitter. May 23, 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
35. Narrative Shattered: What The Media Still Doesn't Want You to Know About Jan 6th | TRIGGERED Ep. 14, 2023-03-09, archived from the original on 2023-06-20, retrieved 2023-06-20
36. Draper, Robert (2023-06-23). "Far Right Pushes a Through-the-Looking-Glass Narrative on Jan. 6". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-06-23. Retrieved 2023-06-23.

External links

• The McBride Law Firm, PLLC
• Twitter account

Categories:

• Living people
• 21st-century American lawyers
• Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law alumni
• Innocence Project
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice alumni
• Lawyers from Brooklyn
• 1978 births

---

ggl 11 25

[### Joseph D. McBride

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Joseph_D._McBride](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_D._McBride)

He has worked as an attorney and counselor at his New York City law firm since 2019. ... On March 9, 2023, McBride appeared with Donald Trump Jr. on an ...

[### Joseph McBride, Esq.: The Fixer Behind High-Profile and ...

YouTube · Attorneys with Swag

160+ views · 9 months ago](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXGYRAjYM_E)

I do Criminal Appeals defamation work and I uh represent like multiple members of Congress and people in the corporate world as well.

[### Trump Official With a 'Nazi Streak' Intervened to Help ...

Yahoo

https://www.yahoo.com › news › articles › trump-offici...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-official-nazi-streak-intervened-185302783.html)

49 minutes ago — “We don't want to be seen as handing out favors.” Joseph McBride, the attorney currently representing the Tate brothers, told ProPublica their ...

[### Trump's White House Intervened in a Federal Investigation ...

Truthout

https://truthout.org › Articles › News](https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-white-house-intervened-in-a-federal-investigation-of-andrew-tate/)

1 hour ago — Ingrassia's work at McBride's small New York law firm included helping to represent the Tate brothers. He has praised Andrew Tate's ...

[### New York attorney a brave devil's advocate: Devine

New York Post

https://nypost.com › 2021/06/27 › new-york-attorney-a...](https://nypost.com/2021/06/27/new-york-attorney-a-brave-devils-advocate-devine/)

Jun 27, 2021 — Joseph McBride is one of the heroic few attorneys who has stood up in the name of equal justice for the most reviled people in the nation.

Missing: gop ‎| Show results with: gop

[### Who repped who in the Jan. 6 probe

Politico

https://www.politico.com › news › 2023/01/06 › jan-6-...](https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/06/jan-6-probe-witness-lawyers-00076779)

Jan 6, 2023 — Joseph McBride, an incendiary attorney who represents several Jan. 6 riot defendants, appeared on behalf of committee witnesses Alexander ...

[### The McBride Law Firm, PLLC | New York NY

Facebook · The McBride Law Firm, PLLC

540+ followers](https://www.facebook.com/mcbridelawnyc/)

My name is Joe McBride. I am an attorney waging war against the Deep State's ... To the establishment GOP who thinks MAGA will betray the Trump family ...

5.0(4)

[### Judge scolds 1/6 lawyer, but won't seek disciplinary action

The Seattle Times

https://www.seattletimes.com › nation-world › judge-sc...](https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/judge-scolds-1-6-lawyer-but-wont-seek-disciplinary-action/)

Apr 21, 2023 — The judge noted last month that McBride continued after that to do media interviews and visit former President Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort.

[### Lawyer Compares Trump to Jesus Christ Ahead of ...

Newsweek

https://www.newsweek.com › lawyer-compares-trump-j...](https://www.newsweek.com/lawyer-compares-trump-jesus-christ-ahead-expected-indictment-1788728)

Mar 18, 2023 — "President Trump will be arrested during Lent—a time of suffering and purification for the followers of Jesus Christ," McBride wrote on Twitter.

[### Joseph D. McBride, Esq. (@McBrideLawNYC) / Posts / X

X · McBrideLawNYC

163.6K+ followers](https://x.com/McBrideLawNYC)

MUST SEE I have independently obtained the same source document as Tucker Carlson, which allegedly contains Thomas Crooks' alleged full online history.

People also search for

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[### Trump official intervened in investigation on behalf of ...

Yahoo News Canada

https://ca.news.yahoo.com › trump-official-intervened-i...](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trump-official-intervened-investigation-behalf-193720064.html)

31 minutes ago — He worked at the law offices of Joseph McBride, the Tate Brothers' personal attorney, before joining the Trump Administration. McBride told ...

[### People v Trump :: 2025 :: New York Appellate Division ...

Justia Law

https://law.justia.com › appellate-division-first-department](https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-division-first-department/2025/index-no-452564-22-appeal-no-2834-2835-2836-case-no-2023-04925-2024-01134-2024-01135.html)

The McBride Law Firm, PLLC, New York (Joseph Daniel McBride of counsel), and The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, New York (Ilya Shapiro of counsel), ...

Missing: gop ‎| Show results with: gop

[### Judge threatens Jan. 6 defense attorneys with discipline

WUSA9

https://www.wusa9.com › news › national › capitol-riots](https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/national/capitol-riots/judge-threatens-to-refer-jan-6-defense-attorneys-for-discipline-over-trial-continuance-joseph-mcbride-jonathan-gross-christopher-quaglin/65-aafbb772-62dd-4e46-ab1c-76dc43bc7b00)

Mar 24, 2023 — U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ordered attorneys Jonathan Gross and Joseph McBride to tell him why they shouldn't be disciplined in ...

[### Far Right Pushes a Through-the-Looking-Glass Narrative ...

The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com › U.S. › Politics](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/23/us/politics/jan-6-trump.html)

Jun 23, 2023 — The 90-minute event was a through-the-looking-glass alternative to the damning case against former President Donald J. Trump presented last year ...

Missing: attorney ‎gop

[### Democrats rip GOP's 'soft-on-crime' plan to pardon rioters ...

Denver Gazette

https://www.denvergazette.com › 2024/03 › democrats-...](https://www.denvergazette.com/2024/03/democrats-rip-gops-soft-on-crime-plan-to-pardon-rioters-and-bring-paul-manafort-back-to-run-convention-1a293b11-1971-5397-b3d5-4b9fef3af719/)

Mar 21, 2024 — “In early 2022, Joseph McBride, a lawyer for multiple January 6 defendants, went to Mar-a-Lago to speak with members of Trump's team,” it reads.

Missing: attorney ‎| Show results with: attorney

[### Gravette man wants Capitol riot case dismissed; his attorney ...

Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

https://www.nwaonline.com › news › sep › gravette-ma...](https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2022/sep/24/gravette-man-wants-capitol-riot-case-dismissed/)

In that speech, Biden made 31 statements regarding MAGA Republicans, according to McBride. "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism ...

[### Why the Government is FAILING You | Joseph McBride ...

YouTube · Digital Social Hour Podcast by Sean Kelly

14.2K+ views · 1 year ago](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXoVBvAbAlQ)

... New York 18:18 - Being Sold Out for Your Beliefs 19:13 - Suing the Government Explained 20:40 - Trump vs Biden Analysis 22:46 ...

Missing: gop ‎| Show results with: gop

[### Tag: Jan. 6 attack

Houston Public Media

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org › tag › jan-6-attack](https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/tag/jan-6-attack/)

August 7, 2024 · Joseph McBride, a New York-based attorney who defended him, said Adam Jackson's son, Adam Jackson Jr. relinquished a college football ...

[### Attorney for J6 Defendants Joseph McBride ...

Instagram · mcbridelawnyc

420+ likes · 1 year ago](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCFwSLqtjgZ/?hl=en)

Attorney for J6 Defendants Joseph McBride @MCBRIDELAWNYC w/Dan Ball on Real America Discussing the Pardoning of Political Prisoners.