Florida Republicans Remove State Chair Christian Ziegler, A Top DeSantis Ally, After Rape Allegations Surface

On Monday, the Florida Republican party voted to remove Christian Ziegler as its chair following rape allegations that led to a police investigation.

The Florida GOP selected Evan Power as their new vice chairman. Power has the support of most Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). No committeemen thought Ziegler should remain as chair.

Ziegler was accused of rape by a woman who previously said she planned to have a three-way sexual encounter with him and his wife, Bridget Ziegler, the founder of Moms for Liberty, a movement that looks to elect conservatives to school boards. Many have criticized the organizations’ positions as anti-LGBTQ.

However, according to the accuser, Bridget was unable to attend and she backed out of the meeting. Christian arrived anyway and sexually assaulted her. Christian, who hasn’t been charged yet with any wrongdoing, has maintained his innocence.

Despite not being accused of the crime, Bridget has been asked by the Sarasota School Board to step down, which she has refused to do so. The episode has brought calls of hypocrisy from LQGBTQ activists.

Before the sex scandal, the Zieglers were considered a conservative power couple and were a key supporter of DeSantis, who helped each other during their 2022 election campaigns.