Ex-GOP Leader in Florida Won't Face Rape Charge

Police say video indicates encounter was consensual
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 8, 2024 5:35 PM CST
Updated Jan 19, 2024 3:25 PM CST
State GOP Ousts Ziegler, Who Faces Rape Accusation
Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler listens to public comments on Dec. 12 after her fellow school board members approved a resolution calling on her to resign.   (Mike Lang/Sarasota Herald-Tribune via AP, File)
UPDATE Jan 19, 2024 3:25 PM CST

Police in Florida have decided not to file rape charges against Christian Ziegler, who was removed this month as the state Republican Party's chair. Ziegler had videotaped a sexual encounter with his accuser, which police reviewed, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. "The video showed that the encounter was likely consensual," police said in a statement Friday, adding that that left them without probable cause to charge Ziegler with sexual battery. The woman had told police that she and Ziegler had planned to have sex with his wife, Bridget Ziegler, who didn't show up. The accuser told police she didn't know she was being recorded, and the department said Friday it has asked prosecutors to consider a video voyeurism charge against Christian Ziegler.

Jan 8, 2024 5:35 PM CST

After pushing him toward the door for weeks, Florida Republicans put the matter to a vote on Monday, removing Christian Ziegler as state party chair. The resolution came behind closed doors in a meeting in Tallahassee, Politico reports. Ziegler is the subject of a police investigation after a woman accused him of raping her. The Republican Party of Florida suspended him last month, canceled his authority and salary, and demanded he resign. Instead, Ziegler has kept his head down; he did not attend Monday's meeting.

"No one voted for Christian Ziegler" in the session, said state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a former state party chair, per CNN. The members then voted to elevate vice chair Evan Power to the position; the two had competed for the job in February. Powers said the Ziegler flap wouldn't have a long-term effect on the party. "I think you are going to see us win big again in November," he said. Ziegler's wife, Bridget, is under pressure to resign as a member of the Sarasota School Board after the two acknowledged having sex with Christian Ziegler's accuser. Bridget Ziegler co-founded the organization Moms for Liberty. (The Michigan GOP voted out its chairwoman on Saturday.)

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