The former Florida state Republican Party chairman and husband of Moms of Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler will not face criminal charges for his role in a threesome sex scandal.
In October, Christian Zeigler was accused of raping a woman he and his wife were in a three-way relationship and recording the encounter.
While being investigated for sexual assault, Zeigler was forced to resign from his position as chairman of the Florida Republican Party. The scandal also put Bridget under the microscope as she faced constant public criticism at Sarasota County School Board meetings, where she serves on the board.
The Sarasota Police Department dropped sexual assault charges against him and the state attorney’s office declined to charge him with video voyeurism for recording the sexual encounter, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
“The victim’s expressed inability to remember whether she consented to recording the sexual activity along with her inconsistencies regarding key details of the event leave the State unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the video in question was filmed without her knowledge or consent.” a memo from the state’s attorney’s office said.
The state prosecutor’s office announced that it will not file charges against the ousted former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, Christian Zeigler.
In October, Christian Zeigler was accused of raping a woman he and his wife Bridget were in a three-way relationship with and recording the encounter.
While being investigated for sexual assault, Zeigler was forced to resign from his position as chairman of the Florida Republican Party.
The Sarasota Police Department dropped sexual assault charges against him and the state attorney’s office declines to charge him with video voyeurism.
Christian Ziegler faced accusations from a woman who said he raped her after she canceled plans to have sex with him and Bridget.
His lawyer, Derek Byrd, told the Associated Press: ‘Mr. Ziegler is relieved to have been completely cleared of false accusations and of any criminal wrongdoing.’
“We cooperated at every stage of the investigation and, as difficult as it was, we remained silent out of respect for the investigation.”
During the initial investigation, Ziegler provided the video to police, who used it to determine that the sexual encounter was likely consensual, according to the state attorney’s office.
However, because it is a crime in Florida to film a sexual encounter without the knowledge and consent of the other participants, the case was referred to the state attorney’s office.
“The victim acknowledged that it was possible that she had consented to having one taken,” the memo said.
“The inconsistencies in the victim’s account appear to be the result of substantial intoxication and trauma the victim was experiencing.”
The police investigation revealed that Ziegler told his wife to find a partner for a threesome and had a list of names of several women on his phone titled ‘THE LIST’, including his rape accuser captioned ‘F***’ .
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.
Text messages from February 2021 show Ziegler told his wife to “come home, stop and pick up (a woman) so they can play again and go crazy.”
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.
Bridget Ziegler faced dozens of calls to resign during Sarasota school board meeting
Bridget Ziegler is a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a member of the Sarasota County school board, and serves on Governor Ron DeSantis’ Disney World oversight board.
It is believed that he was referring to the alleged victim, who, according to him, “was a good alcoholic person with some problems.”
But Bridget responded that she was worried the woman was “going through shit” and “prefers confident, empowered people.”
Bridget Ziegler is a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a member of the Sarasota County school board, and serves on Governor Ron DeSantis’ Disney World oversight board.
He refused to resign from his school board seat after facing hours of public scrutiny over the relationship.
Bridget 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.
“It turns out that you are a hypocrite of the worst kind,” said John Smeallie, retired deputy superintendent of Maryland schools, during a meeting in January. ‘Despite your attacks on the LGTBQ-plus community, it seems that you are part of it. Definitely a B, maybe a plus.’
‘Why don’t you quit?’ asked another person at the meeting.
Christian and Bridget Ziegler were seen leaving a church in downtown Sarasota, Florida, in January.
Bridget 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.
For nearly three hours, Bridget faced dozens of calls for her to resign during the January meeting and at one point began sobbing.
“We are now famous, or infamous, as the case may be, thanks to the antics of you and your husband,” said one enraged local at the gathering.
A resident read the lyrics to Katy Perry’s hit song I Kissed a Girl on the board.
Sarasota residents also brought signs to the meeting with messages such as: ‘Sarasota children deserve better’ and ‘Ziegler must go!’
In February, Bridget Zeigler broke her silence and spoke out about the scandal during a school board meeting. She said: ‘I think the specifics about sexual orientation and whatever have no place in the comments here. Personal lives, families, all that.
‘But I also accept that as elected officials we expose ourselves to incredible criticism, but as an individual I absolutely reject it.
‘As we move forward in political discussions. There is a lot of hyperbole and rhetoric in the newspaper or on social media.
‘I don’t want anyone to be afraid, I don’t want anyone in our district to feel like we’re providing anything other than a fair, safe, tolerant environment for all people to learn and that means not just learning… and work.
“As you can hear, there are a lot of people who believe that’s not the case.”