In response to allegations of rape, the head of the Florida Republican Party—whose spouse founded one of the most well-known conservative organizations in the country—was called to resign by Governor Ron DeSantis, a move that rocked the state’s conservative politics and sparked accusations of hypocrisy from LBGTQ+ activists and Democrats alike.
According to search warrant papers received by Florida news organizations, Christian Ziegler was accused of raping a lady in her apartment two months ago by a woman who had been acquainted with him for twenty years. In a police interview, Ziegler—a longstanding party activist who became leader of the state Republican Party in February—denied the accusations, claiming the intercourse was consensual.
The Sarasota Police investigation into Ziegler, 40, is still ongoing, even though no criminal charges have been brought against him. The identity of the accuser remains undisclosed, and The Associated Press refrains from identifying potential victims of sexual assault without their consent.
His lawyer, Derek Byrd, released a statement saying, “We are confident that once the police investigation is concluded, no charges will be filed and Mr. Ziegler will be completely exonerated.”
The three had had intercourse once more than a year ago, according to his wife, Bridget Ziegler, who reported this to the police. She is a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, an organization that has advocated against LBGTQ+ issues and their supporters alongside the Florida GOP and Ron DeSantis.
In addition to being an elected member of the Sarasota County school board, DeSantis named Bridget Ziegler to the board that now manages property development at Walt Disney World. After Disney rejected DeSantis’ plan last year that would have limited sex education in schools, the legislator managed to pass legislation dissolving a Disney-controlled board.
DeSantis, who is running for the party’s presidential nomination but is trailing former President Donald Trump in the polls, stated on Thursday that Christian Ziegler should step down. He noted that although Ziegler is innocent until proven guilty, his presence would be a distraction and that “the mission (of electing Republicans) is more important.”
Moms for Liberty, which was founded by three women in early 2021, stated on X (previously Twitter) on Thursday that it stands with Bridget Ziegler and “every other badass woman fighting for kids and America.”
The organization was founded in Florida, has now spread across the country, and has had some success supporting socially right candidates for school board positions.
The Florida Democratic Party chair, Nikki Fried, attacked both Christian and Bridget Ziegler in a statement, stating that “the level of hypocrisy in this situation is stunning.” Fried also suggested that Christian Ziegler should step down.
“What occurs in private between Christian and Bridget is their private matter. Nevertheless, I think it’s fascinating that two individuals who are so fixated on outlawing novels about homosexual penguins might be having a non-traditional sexual relationship, Fried added.
She brought up the children’s book “And Tango Makes Three,” which tells the story of two male penguins who take care of a baby together. Based on a true incident, Moms for Liberty members and other conservatives frequently criticize the book, arguing that it shouldn’t be in primary school libraries. The fact that the Zieglers had directly objected to the book could not be verified by the AP.
A phone call left on Saturday asking for a comment from Christian Ziegler was not immediately answered. Bridget Ziegler’s phone number was unavailable, and an email received on Saturday via Moms for Liberty requesting a response was not promptly answered.
The Florida Center for Government Accountability is an investigative journalism group that got the search warrant affidavits. It distributed them to a number of other news sites, which then made them available online. The AP has been unable to acquire copies for itself. Police were able to access Christian Ziegler’s internet chats and confiscate his mobile, thanks to the warrants.
As part of their investigation into the woman’s allegation, police were looking for emails, pictures, videos, contacts, and other material from Christian Ziegler’s phone and Google account, according to affidavits submitted by Sarasota Police Detective Angela Cox last month.
The lady informed the officers that she had known Christian Ziegler for over 20 years. She said that when Christian Ziegler informed her that his wife “couldn’t make it,” she withdrew her consent to have sex with him and his wife on October 2.
After a while, the lady claimed that she went outside to walk her dog and came upon Ziegler waiting in the corridor. According to the papers, she claims he pulled her inside and sexually assaulted her. Ziegler is seen entering and exiting the building on the CCTV footage from the apartment complex, according to investigators.
Cox was informed by the lady’s sister that the woman had called to report being raped. Two days later, the lady reported the rape.
Police monitored the woman’s phone and text messages with Ziegler in late October after he made an attempt to get in touch with her. He maintained that they were friends and once proposed that they get together in person, according to the affidavits.
“After what you did to me, hell no. Do you realize how afraid I am of you? She wrote him a note.
He said he had to go.
The lady accused Ziegler of sexually abusing her over the phone.
He answered, “Those are big words; please don’t; no, I didn’t.”
“I’m in; you invited me.”
Before realizing their calls were being recorded, he promised her “financial help.”
In a Nov. 2 interview with investigators, Ziegler stated he had videotaped the intercourse and that it was consensual, with his lawyer present. He said that following the accusation, he removed the video, but that he later found it again and posted it to Google.
According to the affidavits, detectives took Christian Ziegler’s phone on November 2 and gained access to his Google account two weeks prior.
What they have discovered has not been disclosed.
