TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Republican Party suspended Chairman Christian Ziegler and demanded his resignation during an emergency meeting Sunday, adding to calls by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other top officials for him to step down as police investigate rape allegations against him.
Ziegler is accused of raping a woman with whom he and his wife, Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, had a consensual sexual relationship, according to police records.
“Christian Ziegler has engaged in conduct that renders him unfit for office,” the party’s motion to censure Ziegler said, according to a document posted on social media platform X by Lee County GOP Chairman Michael Thomason.
Ziegler tried to defend himself during the closed-door meeting, but the party board quickly took action against him, Thompson said.
“Ziegler on soapbox trying to defend himself, not working,” Thompson wrote before confirming the vote.
The party’s executive committee will hold another vote at a later date on whether to fire Ziegler.
The Sarasota Police Department is investigating the woman’s allegation that Ziegler raped her in his apartment in October.
Police documents say Ziegler and the woman had planned a threesome that day, but Bridget Ziegler was unable to make it. Accusers say Christian Ziegler arrived anyway and assaulted her.
Christian Ziegler has not been charged with a crime and says he is innocent, stating that the encounter was consensual.
The allegations have also caused turmoil for Bridget Ziegler, an appointed member of the Sarasota School Board, although she has not been accused of any crime.
On Tuesday the board voted to ask him to resign. He refused.
The couple has been vocal against LGBTQ+ rights, and their relationships with other women have sparked criticism and accusations of hypocrisy.
Besides DeSantis, Republican Senators. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, US Representative Matt Gaetz and Florida’s Republican House and Senate leaders have called for Christian Ziegler to resign.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
