Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler is being investigated after a woman filed a complaint with the Sarasota Police Department alleging sexual battery, according to reports that surfaced Thursday.
Ziegler is also the husband of Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler. The notorious “parents’ rights” group is infamous for ongoing efforts to ban books and strip school curricula of any mention of LGBTQ+ issues, race, ethnicity, and discrimination. According to multiple reports, the unnamed victim’s allegation includes a claim “that she and both Zieglers had been involved in a longstanding consensual three-way sexual relationship prior to the incident.”
First reported on by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune has obtained heavily redacted documents from the Sarasota Police Department’s report.
The detective's report states that the individual reported being "sexually battered" at home in Sarasota on Oct. 2. The report again mentions a "sexual assault allegation" and "sexual assault complaint" but has no other information.
The synopsis from the responding officer also is almost entirely redacted. Only five words aren't blacked out in the narrative. They are: "stated... raped... stated that... raped."
According to the initial report, multiple sources say a search warrant was “executed on Christian Ziegler’s cell phone,” and claims that Christian Ziegler may have “secretly videotaped … sexual encounters between the couple and the woman” are also alleged.
It goes without saying that this is a true scandal for the Florida GOP power couple. The Zieglers have based their entire existence on a “Christian” family-values platform that demands everybody conform to a certain set of sexual mores. These allegations fly in the face of that conservative persona.
The Republican Party of Sarasota County released a statement saying they were “shocked and disappointed” by these reports. Ziegler’s attorney, Derek Byrd, told the Herald-Tribune that his client would be “exonerated” of all charges and is fully cooperating with law enforcement.
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