Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler recorded a graphic video of himself engaging in sex with the woman he accused of raping, according to police reports and affidavits.
Ziegler recorded the video on his cell phone after he showed up at the woman’s apartment alone on Oct. 2, according to the Florida Trident. He claimed the activity was consensual.
Ziegler’s accuser is seen “bent over a piece of furniture in the bedroom” and is heard telling the Florida GOP chairman to “climax in his mouth rather than his new shirt,” in the short video, sources told the outlet.
As part of a criminal investigation into the Sunshine State GOP seat, the Sarasota Police Department now has the video footage.
The GOP leader’s wife, Bridget Ziegler, confirmed to Sarasota police that she and her husband had previously had a consensual three-way sexual encounter with the alleged rape victim, a woman Christian Ziegler had known for 20 years, according to the affidavit.
“I’m sorry mostly for her,” the accuser told Christian Ziegler in a text message on the day of the alleged rape, referring to Bridget, according to the affidavit.
Christian Ziegler has refused to resign since news of the scandal broke last month. Dave Decker/Shutterstock
The message came after the Florida GOP chairman asked for the alleged victim’s address, and informed him that it was “only my problem this time” because his wife was no longer free to participate in the trial.
Surveillance video from the apartment shows Ziegler knocking on the alleged victim’s door and walking inside, according to Florida Trident, which appears to contradict at least part of the woman’s version of events.
“The victim opened her apartment door to walk her dog and Christian was standing outside in the hallway,” a Sarasota police affidavit said. “Christian entered the apartment, bent the victim over a bar stool and penetrated her vagina with his penis.”
The two women and the Florida GOP chair left the apartment together after the alleged rape, with surveillance footage reportedly showing Ziegler returning to his pickup truck and the woman walking across the street to get food.
Christian Ziegler’s fate as Florida GOP chairman could be determined at an emergency meeting set for Sunday. CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
With detectives listening in, the alleged victim called Ziegler a few weeks after their meeting, telling him, “I’m not okay with what happened the other day between us.”
“Oh. That’s not good,” Ziegler replied, according to the affidavit. “You are my friend. Known you for twenty years now; Lol.”
“Yeah, I know, but that’s not nice and you didn’t take it and do that to me,” the accuser replied.
“[Bridget] has entered Then I couldn’t because there was no response,” said Ziegler. “He said in the future. But I understand. you [sic] my friend, I actually like you as a person, so I’m sorry you’re disappointed, but I can leave you alone if you like.”
When the alleged victim told Ziegler in one of the controlled calls with law enforcement that he sexually assaulted her, he responded by saying, “That’s a big word, please don’t, I don’t. You invited me in, that’s all. I am not at all, and I would never want you to feel that way.”
Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler, left, greets former president Donald Trump at the RPOF Freedom Summit on Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. AP
Ziegler, who is facing mounting demands to resign, insists that he had sex with the woman on the day of the alleged rape.
Florida’s Republican Party is holding an emergency meeting Sunday where a vote on whether to force Ziegler out as chairman is expected.
“I don’t see how we can continue the investigation, given the dire circumstances. I think he should step aside,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said earlier this month. “I think he should.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R), Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R), the Pinellas County GOP have also called for Ziegler’s resignation.
“This is the topic of every water cooler conversation and every lunch room conversation,” said Rep. Spencer Roach, (R-North Fort Myers) to the New York Times Monday. “People are confused and confused and upset.”
“These people for years have held themselves up as examples of conservative Christian values,” Roach added, referring to Ziegler and his wife. “This is a huge breach of trust.”
Bridget Ziegler, a Sarasota School Board member supported by DeSantis and co-founder of the parent rights group Moms for Liberty, may learn her fate on the school board on Tuesday, when it meets whether to recommend that she resign. will happen, according to Politico.
He has reportedly left his position as director of school board programs for the Leadership Institute, a conservative nonprofit, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Christian and Bridget Ziegler did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
