Who is James Uthmeier? Ron DeSantis calls on Florida's attorney general to "deal" with Andrew Tate and his brother's entry into the state

Social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate arrived in Florida from Romania on Thursday, February 27, 2025. According to The Independent, the Tate brothers entered the U.S. after a travel ban on them due to an investigation related to human tr*fficking was lifted.

Despite being stern supporters of US President Donald Trump, the brothers did not receive a warm welcome in Florida, a state particularly dominated by Republicans. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed this even before Andrew and Tristan landed on US soil and arrived in Fort Lauderdale. He further claimed that he had no prior knowledge of their arrival and only learned about it from the media.

At a press conference, DeSantis said:

"No, Florida is not a place where you're welcome with that type of conduct. Our Attorney General, James Uthmeier, is looking into what state hooks and jurisdictions we have to deal with this."

For the unversed, James Uthmeier, who grew up in Detin, became Florida's Attorney General in February 2025. Prior to this role, he served as the Chief of Staff for Governor DeSantis.

According to an article by the National Association of Attorneys General, James Uthmeier is an adjunct professor at Florida State University College of Law. He and his wife, Jean Uthmeier, share three children. The same article also suggested that James co-teaches religious education classes at the St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral in Tallahassee with Jean.

Born in November 1987, James attended Fort Walton Beach High School before enrolling at the University of Florida. According to his LinkedIn profile, he began his career as a summer law clerk at Dunlap & Shipman. Additionally, he worked for the US Department of Commerce for more than two years, from 2017 to 2019.

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Andrew Tate told reporters that he and his brother Tristan have been "largely misunderstood" after they landed in the US

Tristan and Andrew Tate were detained in Romania in 2022. Last year, formal charges were filed against them, including serious allegations such as human trafficking, s*xual exploitation, and r*pe. Currently, the charges haven't been dismissed, and a second thorough investigation is reportedly going on.

As aforementioned, the travel ban imposed on them has recently been lifted. While it remains unclear who requested the lift, Romania’s foreign minister Emil Hurezeanu stated that a Trump official had expressed interest in the Tate brothers' case, as reported by Times of India on February 28, 2025. However, officials denied that the lift resulted from any pressure from the US administration.

While Florida's governor declared that Andrew Tate and his brother were not welcome in the state, Andrew spoke to the reporters, claiming they did nothing wrong. After landing, he told the media:

"We live in a democratic society where it’s innocent until proven guilty. I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood. There’s a lot of opinions about us, things that go around about us on the internet."

This situation in Florida happened a few days after Andrew Tate took to X and wrote that they would be free soon since Trump had become the president. In the tweet dated February 12, he wrote:

"The Tates will be free, Trump is the president. The good old days are back. And they will be better than ever. Hold on."

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Regarding further updates on Tristan and Andrew Tate, while the ban has been lifted, they are still required to appear in court whenever summoned.