MIAMI– Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, their lawyer said Monday, suggesting their arrest in Miami was politically motivated.

The Tates appeared in federal court Monday for the first time since their arrest Saturday and are in federal custody. In the coming weeks, a U.S. district judge will consider whether they meet the conditions for extradition. US Magistrate Lauren Louis set another hearing for Monday, July 27.

The brothers, usually photographed in tailored suits and fitted shirts, wore tan prison uniforms and were handcuffed during the brief hearing.

A lawyer for the brothers, Joseph McBride, insisted that they should remain in the United States.

“Of course, we oppose extradition because Andrew and Tristan are innocent,” McBride said after the title. “They have never done anything wrong. They should not be extradited for crimes they did not commit.”

The brothers were shocked when they were arrested, McBride said, adding that the attempt to extradite them was politically motivated. “There’s no doubt about it,” he told reporters.

He suggested that the Tates case “had a lot to do with” former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to resign and said it was no coincidence that the brothers were arrested after meeting “friends in Washington, DC.”

“We went to see our congressional people in DC and now they’re arresting us. This seems political,” McBride said.

On Sunday, McBride said he was confident the extradition request would be denied.

Prosecutors in Britain said the new charges relate to four new victims and were brought after authorities received evidence from Bedfordshire police in southeast England. The allegations, spanning 2010 to 2017, include rape, assault, trafficking and offenses involving “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.”

The brothers are already charged with rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for profit in relation to three other alleged victims in the UK between 2012 and 2015.

His attorney said in a statement Saturday that he believed the arrests were “authorized by a low-level official” at the Justice Department without leadership involvement.

But the Justice Department told The Associated Press that the arrests were approved by the leadership of its Criminal Division.

The new accusations are the latest in a long international legal saga involving Tates that has spanned the United States, Britain and Romania. The brothers have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Their social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them one of the most polarizing internet personalities in the world.

The dual US-British citizens moved to Romania in 2016. They were arrested there in 2022, accused of participating in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation. They denied those accusations and the Romanian case has not moved forward due to legal and procedural problems.

Last year they were allowed to leave Romania and flew to Florida.

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Associated Press reporter Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, D.C., contributed.