The former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, who is currently under criminal investigation for sexual assault, has now claimed that he is a victim himself.
Christian Ziegler, 40, was stripped of the party presidency in January after being accused of raping a woman who had previously joined him and his wife Bridget for sex, allegations he denies.
The documents show Ziegler and his Moms for Liberty co-founder wife discussing the woman who accused him of rape in text messages with Bridget concerned for his well-being.
The Sarasota Police Department dropped sexual assault charges against him, but referred a video voyeurism case to the State Attorney’s Office over a clip he allegedly recorded of his alleged victim.
Ziegler has now cited a law designed to protect victims to prevent further information from being released from his phone.
Christian Ziegler, 40, who is currently under criminal investigation for sexual assault, has now claimed that he is a victim himself.
The documents show Christian Ziegler and his Moms for Liberty co-founder wife talking about the woman who accused him of rape in text messages with Bridget concerned for his well-being.
Ziegler has claimed that he has been falsely accused and is therefore a victim whose information should be protected under Marsy’s Law.
No charges have yet been filed and the referred case is still under review.
Ziegler has claimed that he has been falsely accused and is therefore a victim whose information should be protected under Marsy’s Law.
‘Mister. “Ziegler himself has become a victim of a crime, as his accuser made a false report to law enforcement, a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida law,” Ziegler’s attorney, Matthew Sarelson, wrote in an email. email on January 30 to Sarasota City Attorney Robert Fournier.
The Sarasota Police Department does not accept the argument, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
No criminal charges are being filed against Ziegler’s accuser and the department does not anticipate filing charges in the future, police told the publication.
Marsy’s Law, which gives crime victims the right to prevent the disclosure of information that could be used to locate or harass a victim or that could reveal confidential details about the victim, was adopted by Florida in 2018.
Ziegler’s decision to film the sexual encounter with his accuser is at the center of the investigation into video voyeurism, a possible third-degree felony.
Video voyeurism is defined in Florida law as recording videos without the consent of someone “dressing, undressing, or exposing his or her body in private, at a place and time when that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy” for the purposes of ” amusement, entertainment, sexual excitement, gratification or profit, or for the purpose of degrading or abusing another person.’
Ziegler, 40, was stripped of the party presidency in January after being accused of raping a woman who had previously joined him and his wife Bridget (left) for sex.
Bridget Ziegler faced hours of public scrutiny Tuesday night, with people calling for her to resign over the three-way scandal facing the Moms for Liberty woman and her husband Christian.
Bridget informed police officers that she had previously had a threesome with the rape accuser and her husband.
Bridget is the co-founder of Mom for Liberty, a group founded in the wake of COVID-19 school policies that parents across the country felt unnecessarily impeded their children’s development.
Ziegler’s wife, Bridget, co-founder of the influential conservative action group Moms For Liberty, faced a four-to-one vote to remove her from the Sarasota County School Board in December over the scandal, but refused to resign.
At a school board meeting Tuesday night, the 41-year-old faced hours of public scrutiny, with people calling for her to resign.
Bridget Ziegler dodged the issue Tuesday night, but later during the meeting she said, “I think the specifics about sexual orientation and whatever have no place in the comments here.” Personal lives, families, all that.
She has been accused of hypocrisy for engaging in bisexual acts during a threesome with another woman and her husband, as well as being an outspoken leader of anti-LGBTQ politics.
Ziegler told the Sarasota County School Board Tuesday night, “I know it’s been a long evening and I want to thank the staff again for hanging in there.” She wanted to mention a couple of things that came up in the public comments.
‘I’m going to keep this very strict for many reasons and much of the conversation that comes up in public comments, I will never address in these chambers, because it has absolutely nothing to do with my role as a board member.
“There’s a lot of deliberate guesswork and taking things out of context, but when it comes to public comment, I agree with Mr. Edwards. And today I want to congratulate the president because it’s very difficult to chair these meetings.”
Speaking about his role on the commission, he said: “I’ve received a lot of crushes, I know my colleagues here have too, it’s not comfortable, but I also want to applaud Ms Rose for trying to raise decorum because I have an important job.
“We are doing wonderful things. I have been on this board for almost 10 years and I will say again that the progress that is occurring in the last 3 to 6 months is incredible.”
He said he will “defend” the public’s right to speak, adding: “I know there is a hot topic right now, but I know there have been a lot before December and those emotions are running high, so it makes it very difficult navigate that.”