Among Florida’s most powerful political figures were Christian and Bridget Ziegler, a husband and wife team. He heads the Florida Republican Party, while she’s on the school board in Sarasota County and helped form Moms for Liberty. When a lady accused Mr. Ziegler of rape, the couple’s life started to unravel. As a result of the accusations, the GOP decided to punish him.
It was an emergency meeting in Orlando on Sunday, December 17, for the Republican Party of Florida. The forty-person panel decided unanimously that Mr. Ziegler was unqualified to serve as a public official. They stripped him of nearly all of his power and cut his salary to one dollar. Even though he thought it was inappropriate, the chairman showed up to the meeting.
The Sarasota Police Department has been looking into Mr. Ziegler’s criminal activities since October. At that point, a lady came forward to accuse the Republican Party chairman of sexually assaulting her. The woman would engage in consenting intercourse with them, according to Mrs. Ziegler. Despite pressure from conservatives, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, he chose not to step down from his post when the claims were made public.
The New York Times reported that after voting to strip Chairman Ziegler of his power, Republican state Rep. Michelle Salzman said, “This is about the black eye that it’s put on the party.” Evan Power, the party’s vice chairman, said Ziegler that he couldn’t “morally lead the Republican Party forward.”
The Sarasota school board, meanwhile, officially requested that Mrs. Ziegler step down from her role as board member. She has not taken any action to resign from her position, and the resolution was not binding. Those in Sarasota County believe she is trying to force her questionable morals on her pupils. A former student from Sarasota County went viral after addressing her during the meeting’s public comment section, claiming that she should be fired because she is “terrible” at her job and that she doesn’t deserve to be fired due of her personal life.
No criminal charges have been filed against Mr. Ziegler. Allegations remain under investigation by the police.
