Florida school board may seek ouster of Moms for Liberty co-founder over Republican sex scandal

SARASOTA, Fla. — A co-founder of the conservative Moms for Liberty group could move one step closer to being fired from a Florida school board on Tuesday as she becomes embroiled in the fallout from a sex abuse investigation into her husband, the state Republican Party chairman.

The Sarasota County School Board cannot directly remove Bridget Ziegler from the panel, but would vote on a resolution calling for her to resign. The resolution was written by board chair Karen Rose, who said in an email that she is “shocked and deeply saddened” by the rape allegations involving Ziegler's husband, Christian Ziegler, and the couple's admissions that they previously had a had had a three-person sexual encounter with the accuser.

“I personally care about Bridget and her family and deeply regret the necessity of this course of action, but given the intense media attention locally and nationally, her continued presence on the board would create irreparably harmful distractions to our critical mission,” Rose wrote .

Bridget Ziegler has served on the board since 2014, when she was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott, and previously served as chairman. She did not respond to email messages seeking comment on the dismissal decision, which is on the board's agenda for a Tuesday evening meeting.

Sarasota police are investigating a woman's allegation that Christian Ziegler raped her in her apartment in October. According to police documents, the Zieglers and the woman had planned a sexual threesome that day, but Bridget Ziegler couldn't make it. Prosecutors say Christian Ziegler arrived anyway and attacked her, according to the documents.

Christian Ziegler has not been charged with any crime and insists the encounter was consensual. Scott, Governor Ron DeSantis and other Florida Republicans have called on him to resign as chairman of the Republican Party, but he has refused to do so.

In a recent message to Florida Republicans, Christian Ziegler said he would remain chairman “because we have a country to save and I will not allow false accusations of a crime to put that mission on the bench while I wait for this to happen.” process has been completed.” upwards.”

Christian Ziegler's attorney, Derek Byrd, said in an email Monday that he “hopes (the) investigation is concluded quickly.” A spokesperson for the Sarasota Police Department said there is no timetable for the investigation to be completed.

Bridget Ziegler has long been active in conservative politics. She championed the DeSantis-backed law, known by critics as “Don't Say Gay,” which restricts the teaching of sexual and gender material in the early school years. Moms for Liberty, which she co-founded in 2021, aims to inject more conservative views into schools, limit transgender rights, fight pandemic mask mandates and remove books they object to from classrooms and libraries.

In addition, DeSantis appointed Bridget Ziegler to the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District that oversees Walt Disney World operations. That panel — which replaced the Disney-controlled panel — was created by the Legislature at DeSantis' request after Disney objected to the “Don't Say Gay” law. The board is currently the subject of state and federal lawsuits over control of the massive theme park outside Orlando.

Democrats and other critics say the Zieglers are hypocritical because the alleged sexual activities are completely at odds with the conservative views they push on others, especially LGBTQ people.

“The Zieglers have made a habit of attacking anything they believe goes against 'family values,' whether it's reproductive rights or the existence of LGBTQ+ Floridians,” said Nikki Fried, president of the Democratic Party, in a statement. “The level of hypocrisy in this situation is staggering.”

The state GOP called a meeting in Orlando on Sunday to discuss Christian Ziegler's future as party chairman.