The head of the Republican Party of Florida is refusing calls to resign in the wake of rape allegations stemming from an ill-conceived ménage à trois.
Sarasota police are investigating Christian Ziegler, a former county commissioner and chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, following a complaint from a woman who claimed she was in a relationship with Ziegler and his wife, Bridget, chair of the Sarasota County School Board and a co-founder of the social conservative group, Moms For Liberty.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has asked Ziegler to step down amid the investigation. The Zieglers believe they are being “targeted” for having “loud political voices.”
In a sworn affidavit obtained by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, an unidentified woman claims she was raped by Ziegler on Oct. 2. The date was originally set aside for a three-way tryst, but when Bridget Ziegler became unavailable, the woman backed out.
“Sorry, I was mostly in for her,” she told Christian Ziegler, according to the affidavit. Christian Ziegler, allegedly, showed up unannounced at the victim’s apartment and raped her. A complaint was filed two days later and police dispatched a rape kit to a Sarasota hospital.
The Zieglers built their political brand on the old family values shtick. As school board chair, Bridget Ziegler routinely sought to purge LGBTQ themes, even allowing a gay colleague to be publicly smeared by “groomer” insults.
Her involvement in shaping Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill undoubtedly helped land a seat on the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the new governing body born out of DeSantis’ feud with Disney.
In the affidavit, Bridget Ziegler admits to having a sexual encounter with the woman last year.
Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried praised the accuser’s bravery in coming forward and called for Christian Ziegler’s immediate resignation. Fried also noted the Zieglers’ stunning hypocrisy in making “a habit out of attacking anything they perceive as going against ‘family values’ — be it reproductive rights or the existence of LGBTQ+ Floridians.”
