Florida's Republican chair has denied a woman's rape allegation in a case roiling state politics
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The head of Florida's Republican Party, whose wife is a founder of one of the country's most prominent conservative groups, has been accused of rape, prompting Gov. Ron DeSantis to demand his resignation and roiling the state's conservative politics and has made accusations of hypocrisy. of Democrats and LBGTQ+ activists.
Police search warrant affidavits obtained by news organizations in Florida show that a woman who had been friends with Christian Ziegler for 20 years has accused him of raping her in her apartment two months ago. Ziegler, a longtime party activist who took over the Republican Party in February, denied the allegations in an interview with police and said the sex was consensual.
No criminal charges have been filed against Ziegler, 40, but the Sarasota Police Department's investigation remains open. The accuser's name has not been released and The Associated Press does not identify possible victims of sexual assault without their consent.
“We are confident that once the police investigation is complete, no charges will be filed and Mr. Ziegler will be fully exonerated,” his attorney, Derek Byrd, said in a statement.
His wife, Bridget Ziegler, told investigators the three had sex once more than a year ago. She is the co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a group that has worked with the Florida GOP and DeSantis against LBGTQ+ causes and their supporters.
Bridget Ziegler is also an elected member of the Sarasota County School Board and was appointed by DeSantis to the board that now oversees Walt Disney World's land development. DeSantis pushed legislation last year to dissolve a Disney-controlled board after the company opposed his bill limiting sex education in schools.
DeSantis said Thursday that Christian Ziegler should resign, noting that while he is innocent until proven guilty, his presence would be a distraction and that “the mission (of electing Republicans) is more important.” DeSantis is seeking the party's presidential nomination but trails former President Donald Trump in the polls.
Moms for Liberty posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday that it supports Bridget Ziegler and “every other badass woman fighting for children & America.” Ziegler was one of the three founders of the group in early 2021.
Originally founded in Florida, the group has since expanded nationally and had some success running social conservatives for school board seats.
Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said in a statement that Christian Ziegler should resign and then took shots at both Christian and Bridget Ziegler, saying “the level of hypocrisy in this situation is staggering.”
“What happens behind closed doors is Christian and Bridget's personal business. That said, I find it interesting that two people so obsessed with banning books about gay penguins could possibly engage in a non-traditional sexual relationship,” Fried said.
She was referring to the children's book “En Tango Maakt Drie” about two male penguins who raise a chick together. The book is based on a true story and is often targeted by Moms for Liberty members and other conservatives who believe it should not be included in elementary school libraries. The AP could not confirm whether the Zieglers personally opposed the book.
Christian Ziegler did not immediately respond to a telephone message left Saturday seeking comment. A phone number for Bridget Ziegler was not available, and an email sent Saturday through Moms for Liberty seeking comment was not immediately returned.
The search warrant affidavits were obtained by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, an investigative news organization. It shared them with several other news outlets that posted them online. The AP was unable to obtain its own copies. The arrest warrants allowed police to seize Christian Ziegler's cell phone and obtain his online communications.
In affidavits filed last month, Sarasota Police Detective Angela Cox said investigators were looking for emails, photos, videos, contacts and other information from Christian Ziegler's cell phone and Google account as part of their investigation into the woman's accusation.
The woman told detectives that she and Christian Ziegler have known each other for more than 20 years. She said she agreed to have sex with Ziegler and his wife on Oct. 2, but backed out after Christian Ziegler told her his wife “wasn't going to make it.”
The woman said she left her apartment a while later to walk her dog, but found Ziegler in the hallway. She says he pushed her inside and raped her, according to the affidavits. Investigators say security video from the apartment complex shows Ziegler entering and leaving the building.
The woman's sister told Cox that the woman called her and told her she had been raped. The woman reported the rape two days later.
In late October, after Ziegler tried to contact the woman, police had her phone and text conversations with him monitored. According to the affidavits, he insisted they were friends and at one point suggested they meet in person.
“No, not after what you did to me. Do you understand that I'm terrified of you? she wrote to him.
He replied that he had to go.
In a telephone conversation, the woman told Ziegler that he had sexually assaulted her.
“Those are big words, please don't, no, I didn't do that,” he replied. “You invited me in.”
He offered her “financial help” before he became suspicious that their conversations were being recorded.
In a Nov. 2 interview with detectives in the presence of his attorney, Ziegler said the sex was consensual and that he recorded it. He said he subsequently deleted the video, but after the accusation he restored it and uploaded it to Google.
Detectives seized Christian Ziegler's phone on Nov. 2 and gained access to his Google account two weeks ago, the affidavits said.
None of what they found has been made public.