The Florida Republican Party on Sunday stripped authority from its chairperson, who has been accused of rape in connection with a threesome involving him and his wife, a Sarasota County school board member and co-founder of the anti-gay Moms for Liberty.
Christian Ziegler attended the meeting on Sunday to defend himself but could not stop the executive board from reducing his salary to $1 and issuing a censure, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reported.
“We asked him to resign immediately; he has still not resigned,” Florida GOP Vice Chair Evan Power said, adding, “So we wait. We’re calling a special meeting … to elect a new chairman and remove him formally from office.”
That meeting will be held on January 8 in Tallahassee.
Sarasota police are investigating a claim that Ziegler, 40, raped a woman on October 2. The woman claimed that she was involved in a relationship with Ziegler and his wife, Bridget Ziegler, who has also defied calls to resign in the wake of the allegations, although she admitted to the relationship.
An affidavit says that the alleged victim and Bridget Ziegler told police they had a three-way encounter with Christian Ziegler about a year ago and scheduled another for October 2. When Bridget Ziegler couldn’t be there, the alleged victim tried to cancel, but Christian Ziegler showed up anyway.
Ziegler apologized to the board at Sunday’s meeting and said he was “embarrassed” by the allegations. But Lee County GOP Chair Michael Thompson said his apology came with a “pompous attitude” and that he was on a “soapbox” proclaiming his innocents.
“He came in trying to defend himself a little bit and his actions on why he should be retained as the state chair,” Thompson said.
Ziegler denies raping the woman, saying he had sex with her consensually. Police are still investigating and have not charged him with a crime.
“He deserves to go through the legal process,” Power said. “But what we have as a party is a political problem. You cannot lead the Republican Party with the charges that are standing in front of him and the admissions he’s made in the affidavits. You cannot morally lead the Republican Party forward.”
Several of Florida’s top elected Republicans have called on Christian Ziegler to resign, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, US Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, US Rep. Vern Buchanan, Attorney General Ashley Moody, Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, and state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo.
The Zieglers have been key allies of DeSantis in his culture war, anti-gay agenda. Bridget Ziegler stood by the governor when he signed the Parental Rights in Education Act, known derisively in Democratic circles as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. DeSantis later appointed her to his special board overseeing Disney properties in Florida after he tried to take away the entertainment giant’s rights for opposing the bill.
Only DeSantis can remove her from her governmental position. She attended a board meeting last week and listened to hours of public comment calling on her to resign.
“Most of our community could not care less what you do in the privacy of your own home, but your hypocrisy takes center stage,” said Sally Sells, a Sarasota resident and the mother of a fifth-grader, the New York Times reported.
The other two founds of Moms for Liberty, Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice, said Ziegler has not been an officer in the organization in nearly three years.
The censure issued by the Florida party on Sunday says Christian Ziegler has “engaged in conduct that renders him unfit for the office of Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and leader of the Florida GOP,” the Herald Tribune said
“As a result of such conduct and actions,” the resolution says, “Christian Ziegler has injured the good name of the Republican Party of Florida, disturbed its well-being, and hampered the organization in performing its mission.”
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[Featured image: Florida Party of Florida Chairman Christian Ziegler addresses attendees at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)]
