FL GOP Chair, Husband of Moms for Liberty co-founder, investigated for sexual battery

[Edge-]

https://www.rollingstone.com/politic...ty-1234906540/

Christian Ziegler, the Florida GOP Chair and husband of Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, is under criminal investigation over allegations of sexual battery by a woman who claims to have been involved in a long-term sexual relationship with both of the Zieglers. The investigation was first reported by the Florida GOP Accountability Project’s news division The Florida Trident.

According to a police complaint obtained by the Trident, and sources who spoke to the publication, the woman alleges that Christian Ziegler raped her on Oct. 2 while the pair were alone in her home in Sarasota, Florida. The police report mentions the phrases “raped,” “ sexual assault allegation,” and “sexually battered,” but is otherwise heavily redacted.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation told the Trident that police officers executed a search warrant on Ziegler’s phone, and the GOP Chair is alleged to have recorded sexual encounters between himself, his wife, and the woman. Charges have not yet been filed against Ziegler, and the incident remains under investigation.

Ziegler has denied any wrongdoing, with his attorney Derek Byrd telling The Herald Tribune that his client “will be completely exonerated” and noting that Ziegler has been “fully cooperative with every request made by the Sarasota Police Department.”

The allegations against Ziegler, and the claims that he and his wife are involved in a polyamorous relationship, mark the second sex-related scandal to rock the upper echelons of the far-right activist group Moms for Liberty in recent weeks. Earlier this month, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Phillip Fisher Jr., an organizer and pastor for the organization in Philadelphia, is a registered sex offender. Fisher Jr. was convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy.

Moms for Liberty, which campaigns aggressively against education on issues of gender, race, and sexuality in schools, postures itself as deeply moralistic and presents its leadership as embodiments of traditional, Christian family values. The notion that one of its founders is involved in a menage a trois — and that her husband may have assaulted their mutual partner — stands antithetical to the public face the organization attempts to present.

In response to the allegation, the Florida Democratic Party called for Ziegler’s resignation. “Allegations of rape and sexual battery are severe and should be taken seriously … I applaud the accuser’s bravery in coming forward against a political figure as powerful as Christian Ziegler, and I trust that the Sarasota Police Department will conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations of criminal behavior,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement released Thursday.

“Christian Ziegler can’t possibly continue to lead the Florida GOP under these conditions,” she added. “Given the severity of the criminal allegations, I’m calling for his immediate resignation.”

First off: Hilarious that this guy and his wife, strong conservatives promoting the nuclear family and decrying liberal sexual freedom and all that, are in a threesome. That's not a very "traditional family values" oriented thing and I'm unsure that'd be appropriate for their young children if they have them! Really though, consenting adults can do what consenting adults want to do, it's just funny that we're again seeing Republicans functionally saying, "Only we are allowed to have sex kinks or like anything beyond missionsary, if you do it it's perverse."

Second off, boy howdy the number of Republicans who have been accused, indicted, or charged with assault or sex-related crimes continues to be quite high. Matt Schlapp is still dealing with the lawsuits over grabbing a male aide to the Walker campaign's dick and trying to invite him up to his room after the aide picked him up from a bar to return him to his hotel.

Just again pointing out that those leading some of these moral crusades are the very kinds of charlatans, liars, and "perverts" they rage against.

Once again: Every accusation ultimately seems to be an admission.

[Edge-]

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/12/...investigation/

By the way - Bridgit Ziegler has confirmed that yes, they were involved in a threesome with a friend.

Traditional family values sure look different than I remember conservatives describing them as.

[Karreck]

Traditional family values sure look different than I remember conservatives describing them as.

Rules for thee, not for me - Conservative Slogan

[gondrin]

https://www.rollingstone.com/politic...ty-1234906540/



First off: Hilarious that this guy and his wife, strong conservatives promoting the nuclear family and decrying liberal sexual freedom and all that, are in a threesome. That's not a very "traditional family values" oriented thing and I'm unsure that'd be appropriate for their young children if they have them! Really though, consenting adults can do what consenting adults want to do, it's just funny that we're again seeing Republicans functionally saying, "Only we are allowed to have sex kinks or like anything beyond missionsary, if you do it it's perverse."

Second off, boy howdy the number of Republicans who have been accused, indicted, or charged with assault or sex-related crimes continues to be quite high. Matt Schlapp is still dealing with the lawsuits over grabbing a male aide to the Walker campaign's dick and trying to invite him up to his room after the aide picked him up from a bar to return him to his hotel.

Just again pointing out that those leading some of these moral crusades are the very kinds of charlatans, liars, and "perverts" they rage against.

Once again: Every accusation ultimately seems to be an admission.

Man, having a threesome. What a liberal thing to be doing. Mighty liberal of them to be open to multiple sex partners.

[Xyonai]

Man, having a threesome. What a liberal thing to be doing. Mighty liberal of them to be open to multiple sex partners.

Nothing wrong with threesomes (not that I'm saying you're saying that, just being general) but it really does speak to the wider issue with these people.

Time and time again it's 'Guy who rails against this Thing is secretly his local chapter's Thing fanclub president!' when it comes to Conservative expose stories that I'm finding it *increasingly* suspect how quickly they picked up and rolled with the Pizzagate conspiracy, but it also just shows that they don't believe in anything besides manipulating the people beneath them for power.

Even for the apparent diehards like Boebert and Goser and Tuberville and Greene, they're all dipshits and attention whores but at the end of the day it's just about the grift and holding onto power rather than actually giving a shit and doing anything productive. It's incredibly frustrating how well a party that doesn't stand for anything has managed to hold onto so much power in modern politics.

[The Stormbringer]

This calls for a classic...



More unsurprising behavior from the GOP. Honestly I feel like even their supporters aren't even surprised anymore, and will just keep voting for them no matter what. They don't care if the representative telling them to hate X and Y also partakes in X and Y, since they're all giant fucking hypocrites.

[Edge-]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/florid...pe-accusations

As Florida GOP chairman Christian Ziegler faces calls to resign amid a rape investigation, members of his party are trying to call an emergency meeting to address the scandal.

Evan Power, the Republican Party of Florida’s vice chair, sent a Monday night email to colleagues announcing Ziegler had refused to call a meeting himself.

“It is with a heavy heart I write this email to you,” Power wrote. “Over the last few days, we have seen the news and have received calls from the press about the situation with our Chairman. Many of you have called me, and I have tried to talk to as many of you as possible.”

He added, “In an act of respect for the Chairman, this evening, I phoned him to request he call an executive board meeting; he declined and said the matters could be taken up in February.”

“It is the opinion of the many members that is not an acceptable timetable,” Powers continued.

A police investigation for rape/sexual battery is fairly serious, and the admission that you and your wife have been engaged in a non-nuclear-family relationship that doesn't adhere to traditional family values probably doesn't instill any confidence in the rest of the state party.

Two high-profile Ziegler allies—DeSantis and U.S. Senator Rick Scott—have called on Christian Ziegler to step down. Despite facing pressure within his own party, Ziegler has refused to call it quits, telling colleagues in an email over the weekend: “We have a country to save and I am not going to let false allegations of a crime put that mission on the bench as I wait for this process to wrap up.”

It's funny when Republicans get frustrated that their party treats internal scandals largely the same as external scandals. Shame they have to deal with so many members in their party/leadership with seemingly no moral compass.

Weeks later, Christian Ziegler messaged the victim again in communications that were recorded with detectives. “I’m not okay with what happened the other day between us,” the victim said, according to the affidavit.

“Oh. That’s not good. You’re my friend. Known ya for like twenty years now. Lol,” Ziegler replied.

Later, the victim told him she refused to meet with him. “Hell no not after what you did to me. Do you not understand I am terrified of you?”

In one of their phone calls, Ziegler asked if the victim needed financial help and whether she was recording him and trying to get him to say something.

When detectives interviewed Ziegler with his attorney present, the GOP chair claimed the encounter was consensual with the victim and that he recorded video of the incident. “Christian said he initially deleted the video, but since the allegation, he uploaded the video to his Google Drive,” the affidavit says. “Which we have not been able to locate upon a digital extraction.”

Boy, those messages aren't great at all for Christian. And he recorded his alleged rape and deleted it? And then forgot he didn't delete it and may have oopsie lied about it because it's also his claim for exculpatory evidence but it magically doesn't appear to be where he uploaded it!

Bridget Ziegler has been on Sarasota’s school board since 2014, and this year DeSantis appointed her to the five-member panel overseeing Walt Disney World’s special district—a board he created to punish the company for its opposition to his “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Bridget sounds like one of those "groomers" she complains about. Shouldn't she be protesting herself and demanding her removal from the development district board?

Jordan Letschert, a gay dad and former Florida police officer, said his family was forced to move to Denver “because of people like Christian and Bridget Ziegler,” who he says “completely changed the dynamics of what we know Sarasota and Florida to have always been, which was an accepting, inclusive state until the past seven years.”

“The hypocrisy has already been admitted by both Christian and Bridget,” Letschert added. “They both have admitted to having homosexual acts on Bridget’s side with another woman in a threesome, and yet they will post things on their social media to make Proud Boys show up at events where kids are at, who are simply trying to form gay-straight alliances.”

Letschert said that despite the Zieglers’ activities in Sarasota, the city and LGBTQ community “would stand and help Bridget Ziegler if she identifies as bisexual” instead of attacking her.

Back the blue!

Unless it's a blue boy who likes another blue boy then they're icky and gross and they need to go away because that's not a traditional family. But Bridget, Christian, and Bridget's secret fuckbuddy third partner? That's apparently a traditional family with traditional family values.

After news of the Ziegler scandal broke, M4L’s national Twitter account called the accusations “Yet another attempt today to ruin the reputation of a strong woman fighting for America.”

In the since-deleted post, M4L appeared to back up the Zieglers’ claims that the rape allegations were politically motivated attacks on them. “#StrongWomen scare those that seek to destroy our country. We stand with @BridgetAZiegler & every other badass woman fighting for kids & America,” the right-wing group wrote.

Well that's particularly gross but also depressingly predictable.

Descovich and Justice, who co-founded M4L with Bridget Ziegler, released a new statement on Tuesday. “We have been truly shaken to read of the serious, criminal allegations against Christian Ziegler,” they said. “We believe any allegation of sexual assault should be taken seriously and fully investigated.”

“Bridget Ziegler resigned from her role as co-founder with Moms for Liberty within a month of our launch in January of 2021, nearly three years ago,” they continued. “She has remained an avid warrior for parental rights across the country.”

Wow, it's almost like they probably knew it was true but were circling the wagons until that strategy became untenable. It's wild how many of these "political hitjobs" have actually been comletely legit and not political hitjobs at all.

Last month, it was also revealed that a M4L chapter leader in Philadelphia was a registered sex offender convicted of abusing a 14-year-old boy, and that the organization booted two of its Kentucky chapter chairs after they posed with members of the far-right group the Proud Boys, which, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, is known for regularly disseminating white nationalist ideas.

Because most of the "Mom's 4 Liberty" folks generally seem to be awful folks, and I think we should be concerned about how many other sex offenders they're harboring in their ranks.

[Mekh]

Rules for thee, not for me - Conservative Slogan

*Rule for Three

[Paranoid Android]

Wait and I thought this was Old News. I was going to post awhile ago but didn't want to create a new thread.

So....

Moms for Liberty Official Is Registered Sex Offender

Phillip Fisher Jr., who’s also a minister and Republican ward leader in Philadelphia, was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy in 2012 in Chicago, The Philadelphia Inquirerreports.

So there was this guy too and I'm sure nobody posted about this person?

Yeah Moms of Libbbbs have a problem with sexual assaults in their org.

[Karreck]

*Rule for Three

Well played.

[zorkuus]

Yeah Moms of Libbbbs have a problem with sexual assaults in their org.

No surprise there. Anything with "freedom" "liberty" "family values" in their name are usually everything they preach against.

The louder they yell about something, the more likely it is they've done it themselves. It would be funny if it wasn't so scary how hypocritical and without morals or policies these folk are. It's all just a giant grift for power and money to them.

[prwraith]

This is my shocked face. Who could have ever seen this coming from a republican...the absolute scandal. He'll be alone in the memory of republicans who did the opposite of what they pr....nope couldn't keep it up.

Add this guy to the hundreds of recent republicans caught doing the very things they preach against lawl

[Iphie]

No surprise there. Anything with "freedom" "liberty" "family values" in their name are usually everything they preach against.

The louder they yell about something, the more likely it is they've done it themselves. It would be funny if it wasn't so scary how hypocritical and without morals or policies these folk are. It's all just a giant grift for power and money to them.

Ain't that the truth, even in Dutch politics it works that way. One exception being the VVD, People's party for Freedom and Democracy, they're centre right (aka liberals) but they do respect democracy, unlike the PVV (Party for Freedom...as long as you are of the right religion and colour) or FvD (Forum for Democracy, as long as you listen to our David Icke and putin worshipping Fuhrer and agree that foreigners are the root cause of all issues you'll do just fine)

I haven't seen it work that way in Finnish politics yet, but i would not be surprised if one of those parties that never get in but always participates would work on that principle.

[Poopymonster]

This is my shocked face. Who could have ever seen this coming from a republican...the absolute scandal. He'll be alone in the memory of republicans who did the opposite of what they pr....nope couldn't keep it up.

Add this guy to the hundreds of recent republicans caught doing the very things they preach against lawl

It comes from the myth that as long as you say you are sorry and really really REALLY mean it, anything can be forgiven, with only one exception.

With that type of get out of flames free card, is it any wonder about their actions?

[Edge-]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67919200

After having had his salary reduced to $1 and all his duties transferred to other officers, leaving him "Chairman" in name only, former Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Zeigler has stepped down.

His wife, Moms 4 Liberty co-founder Bridget Zeigler, who is the primary interest of the third woman in their threesome apparently, remains in her position on the Sarasota County School Board, I believe where she has no children enrolled as they're all homeschooled or something.

Anyways, don't be having non-biblical threesomes with sexy ladies you aren't married to if you're preaching the traditional nuclear family with one man and one woman and some children that a stork leaves on their doorstep.

[Edge-]

https://www.local10.com/news/politic...eurism-charge/

Update: Christian Zeigler has been cleared of allegations of rape, there was insufficient evidence to support the claim and a recording made by Zeigler indicated that it was "likely consensual".

Update 2: The video Christian Zeigler made, however, was not recorded with the victims consent - which is potentially a case of video voyeurism, a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Police have asked for these charges and but they have not been filed yet.

Reminder: Don't run as a "family values conservative" if you're engaged in freaky sex stuff like threesomes. Totally your thing, consenting adults should be able to do what they want in the privacy of their own homes for the most part and all, but don't be upset when you face a lot of repercussions because also publicly condemn that kind of behavior and hang out with others who do too.

[Elder Millennial]

I just can't wrap my head around the hypocrisy. Their politics have to be a grift.

I mean at some point or another they had to have a conversation about how they reconcile their "values" with their lifestyle. Like I'd pay cash money to be a fly on the wall during that.