Andrew Tate recently stated on social media that the federal detention center holding him in Miami has kept him in a roach-infested cell without air conditioning or hot water while he fights extradition to the United Kingdom.
My situation is deteriorating.
Despite spending 61 days in the SHU, the punitive unit for inmates who attack other prisoners and guards, I have once again had my conditions downgraded.
Since the time I have come into this jail I have been forced to endure punitive housing.…
— Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) September 17, 2026
Federal officials have not confirmed those specific conditions. The Bureau of Prisons has said FDC Miami operates under federal rules and policies, while prosecutors have argued that Tate’s confinement is lawful and constitutional.
The dispute over Tate’s treatment comes as Texas faces a much broader reckoning over extreme heat behind bars.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ordered the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to air-condition all state prisons by December 31, 2029, ruling that current conditions in uncooled facilities violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
The order gives Texas a firm deadline after years of legislative debate, litigation and incremental spending on prison cooling.
Tate Says Miami Cell Has No Air Conditioning
Tate and his brother Tristan have been held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami since July 18 while fighting extradition to the United Kingdom.
The Dallas Express previously reported that U.S. authorities arrested the dual U.S.-British citizens pursuant to a British extradition request involving allegations of rape, assault and sex trafficking.
The brothers deny the allegations and have not been convicted of the charges underlying the British request.
Their legal problems have since expanded.
DX reported September 4 that Romanian prosecutors filed a new indictment accusing Andrew Tate of trafficking minors, having sex with a minor, money laundering and witness tampering. Tristan Tate was indicted for allegedly assisting him.
Both men deny the Romanian accusations, which have not been proven in court.
Against that legal backdrop, Andrew Tate has increasingly focused public attention on the conditions of his confinement in Miami.
In a statement published through Tate’s online accounts on September 17, he said he had spent 61 days in FDC Miami’s Special Housing Unit and alleged that staff had moved him to a worse cell.
“I no longer have hot water of any kind. I no longer have air conditioning of any kind,” Tate wrote, also alleging what he called a “serious roach infestation.”
He claimed he could see 10 to 15 roaches on the walls and ceiling at a time.
Those allegations have not been independently verified.
Tate has also complained about cold food, sanitation and limited access to phone calls. His attorney, Joseph McBride, has said the brothers do not personally possess phones in custody and that social-media posts are transmitted through their legal team after meetings.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons told Indy100 that it does not discuss individual inmates’ confinement conditions for privacy and security reasons but said FDC Miami operates under applicable federal regulations, policies and procedures.
Federal prosecutors have separately rejected broader complaints about the brothers’ treatment, arguing in court that their conditions remain lawful and constitutional.
Prosecutors Defend Conditions
Federal prosecutors previously rejected the brothers’ broader complaints about their confinement.
“While FDC Miami is not a Marriott,” prosecutors wrote in court papers, per Reuters, that “the TATES’ conditions of confinement are reasonable, constitutional, and within BOP’s discretion.”
Tate’s September allegations go further, claiming a complete lack of air conditioning and hot water in his current cell.
The Bureau of Prisons has not publicly confirmed those specific allegations.
Texas Judge Orders Every State Prison Cooled
Tate’s complaints surfaced the same week a federal court issued a sweeping order over heat conditions in Texas state prisons.
Pitman ruled Tuesday that Texas must install air conditioning throughout its prison system by the end of 2029, per the Texas Tribune.
The ruling does not stem from a newly enacted Texas law.
Instead, it follows years of litigation over prison temperatures and allegations that incarcerated people were being subjected to dangerously hot living conditions.
As of September 1, only slightly more than one-third of TDCJ’s 104 facilities were fully air-conditioned, according to the Texas Tribune.
TDCJ has estimated that fully cooling the system could cost approximately $1.5 billion.
Legislature Funded Cooling Without Mandating It
Texas lawmakers have repeatedly debated prison air conditioning without enacting a universal requirement.
They have, however, appropriated substantial money toward cooling projects.
TDCJ received $85 million during one legislative session and another $118 million during the next for additional air-conditioning installation, according to the agency’s 2025 annual review.
The agency said those projects included thousands of additional air-conditioned beds and plans for tens of thousands more.
TDCJ also previously sought $118 million for additional air-conditioning work that it said would add more than 16,000 cooled beds and push the number of air-conditioned beds above 78,000.
Before Tuesday’s ruling, the agency had been pursuing a phased expansion rather than a court-imposed systemwide deadline.
Pitman’s order changes that timetable.
Texas Says It Already Uses Heat Protections
TDCJ has argued that it employs a number of measures intended to protect inmates and staff from extreme heat.
The agency’s enhanced heat protocols include heat-sensitivity screenings, access to air-conditioned respite areas, cold showers, chilled water, fans, cooling towels and restrictions on outdoor activity during dangerous heat.
Inmates with medical conditions or medications that increase heat sensitivity receive priority for air-conditioned housing when available.
The agency has also said it performs maintenance on HVAC systems, ventilation equipment and ice machines and provides staff and inmates with training on heat-related illness.
Plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit argued those measures were not enough.
Pitman agreed, finding that the existing conditions and pace of improvements were constitutionally inadequate.
Prison Heat Extends Beyond Texas
Extreme heat in correctional facilities is not unique to Texas.
Reuters found that nearly half of the state prisons examined across 29 states had either partial air conditioning or no air conditioning in housing units.
Texas stood out because of the size of its prison system and the number of facilities without full cooling.
Federal detention facilities such as FDC Miami operate under a separate system, meaning Tate’s allegations and the Texas ruling involve different agencies, legal standards and populations.
The common issue is narrower: how hot, unsanitary or otherwise harsh government confinement can become before courts determine it violates constitutional protections.
The Dallas Express Has Tracked Extreme Heat Across North Texas
The Dallas Express has repeatedly covered dangerous heat across North Texas.
DX reported earlier this month that North Texas experienced heat-index readings approaching 107 degrees during an extended stretch of hot, dry weather.
The prison case presents a fundamentally different problem: incarcerated people cannot simply leave overheated buildings or independently seek out cooler locations.
That lack of control over exposure has been central to litigation challenging extreme prison temperatures.
Tate Still Fighting Extradition
Tate’s immediate legal fight remains his extradition case.
A federal magistrate judge denied bail on September 9 while Andrew and Tristan Tate contest extradition to the United Kingdom. The judge considered them flight risks because of their wealth and history of international travel.
Both men deny the British allegations.
Romanian prosecutors also indicted Andrew Tate earlier this month on charges including trafficking minors, money laundering, sex with a minor and witness tampering. Tristan Tate faces a complicity charge. Both deny wrongdoing.
Andrew Tate has said his legal team is preparing action related to his confinement conditions, but as of Tuesday no publicly identified lawsuit addressing his latest September allegations had surfaced.
For Texas, the prison-heat litigation has already produced a concrete result. Under Pitman’s order, the state must fully air-condition its prison system by the end of 2029, replacing years of incremental expansion with a court-imposed deadline.
Provided by Dallas Express
