Andrew and Tristan Tate have been locked up in Miami since July 18, fighting extradition to the UK on dozens of charges including rape and sex trafficking. Since then, a very public dispute has broken out over what they’re eating, whether they’re eating at all, and whether the jail is treating them fairly. The brothers claim they’re barely getting any food beyond the bare minimum, while the government insists they’ve had full access to the commissary just like every other inmate.
On August 19, Tristan Tate wrote a handwritten note to his lawyer, Joe McBride, complaining about the situation. “We have had 14 snack items in the past 32 days between two big men,” the note read. “What is this, trick or treat? I’ve lost 13 pounds and I’m hungry.” According to the brothers’ legal team, Andrew has lost 8 pounds while Tristan is down 13. McBride posted the note on X, adding that the brothers had been given commissary access only once in those 32 days, and argued that expecting two grown men to stretch a single Snickers bar across three days is simply unreasonable. In earlier court filings, the defense also claimed the Tates have had no television, no radio, no pillows, and have been sleeping on bunks shorter than they are tall, painting a picture of conditions they say are unnecessarily harsh.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida quickly pushed back by releasing commissary receipts. Those records show that as of August 5, Tristan had a commissary account balance of $2,583, while Andrew had $3,564. On that same day, the brothers bought nearly identical hauls: ramen noodles in chili, roasted chicken, and low-sodium chicken flavors, Snickers and Twix bars, turkey and Swiss combo sticks, spicy sweet chili Doritos, and Colombian coffee, spending roughly $75 total. A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson also told the Miami New Times that inmates at the Federal Detention Center, including those in the Special Housing Unit, have access to potable water, commissary, phone calls, recreation, social visits, mail, and legal counsel, suggesting the Tates are not being deprived of basic privileges.
The receipts don’t necessarily prove the brothers are eating well — federal commissary fare is hardly a steak dinner, and a single shopping trip doesn’t guarantee regular access. But they do complicate the narrative that the Tates have had zero access to food beyond what the jail provides. Andrew Tate had previously claimed on X from behind bars that there was “no commissary, no visits, no contact with the outside world,” a statement the DOJ receipts directly contradict. McBride, however, maintains the government is misleading the public, arguing that one commissary visit in 32 days — even with a large balance — still means the brothers are going hungry for weeks at a time, especially when two grown men are splitting just 14 snack items over more than a month.
For now, the brothers remain at the Miami Federal Detention Center while a judge considers whether to release them on bond during what could be a months-long extradition process. They face nearly 60 criminal charges between them in the UK, including multiple counts of rape, human trafficking, and assault. The food dispute may be a sideshow to the serious allegations they’re fighting, but if they truly only got one commissary visit in over a month, that’s a fair complaint regardless of who you are.
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