CNN
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The Florida Republican Party has removed Christian Ziegler as party chairman amid a sex scandal and sexual assault investigation.
“Nobody voted for Christian Ziegler,” said former Florida Republican Party Chairman and current Florida Sen. Blaise Ingoglia.
Mr. Ziegler, who has not been criminally charged, did not attend the meeting. CNN has reached out to Ziegler for comment.
The firing comes after state party leadership suspended Ziegler last month and stripped him of all powers.
Florida Congressmen Matt Gaetz and Byron Donald and Florida Lieutenant Governor Janet Nunez attended the meeting.
Ziegler has been under investigation by the Sarasota Police Department since October. According to a search warrant affidavit first obtained by CNN from the Florida Government Accountability Center, Ziegler and his wife, Bridget, were with the alleged victim on the day of the alleged assault on October 2, 2023. A three-way sexual encounter was planned. And “when the victim learned that Bridget could not go, she changed her mind and canceled her appointment with Christian.” According to the affidavit, the Zieglers had previously had consensual sex with the accuser. It is said that they had a relationship.
The affidavit says surveillance video showed Christian Ziegler arriving at the alleged victim’s residence on the day of the alleged assault. According to her affidavit, the alleged victim said he entered her apartment, made her sit on a bar stool and raped her.
Sarasota police are also investigating whether Ziegler violated Florida’s video voyeurism law by recording the sexual encounter.
Ziegler said the sex was consensual. His lawyer, Derek Byrd, said in a statement to CNN last month that he would be cleared of wrongdoing. “I am confident that once the police investigation is complete, no charges will be filed and Mr. Ziegler will be fully exonerated,” Byrd said.
Ziegler was facing calls for his resignation from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott and Gates. Last month, the Florida Republican Party cut Ziegler’s salary to $1 a year and stripped him of his ability to hire and fire staff. I speak on behalf of the Republican Party of Florida. Or he could keep his title as chairman and still raise money for his party.
The Ziegler family is a prominent political figure in the Florida Republican Party. The couple rose from a power base in Sarasota County to important figures across the state under the DeSantis administration.
Christian Ziegler became chairman of the Florida Republican Party in February after many years of involvement in local politics, including as a county commissioner and vice chairman of the state party. Bridget Ziegler was appointed to the Sarasota County Board of Education in 2014 and has been re-elected three times. The school board passed a resolution last month asking her to resign. The move is non-binding, and he has not indicated that she intends to resign.
Bridget Ziegler has been at the forefront of DeSantis’ culture wars within Florida’s public schools. She co-founded the conservative parents’ rights group Moms for Liberty and has led efforts in Florida and other states to remove books deemed inappropriate for children from classrooms. DeSantis oversees the Walt Disney Co.’s special taxing district in central Florida amid a standoff with the entertainment giant over state laws that limit how sexual orientation and gender identity are taught in classrooms. appointed her to the board of directors.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Jack Forrest, Daniel Strauss and Alison Gordon contributed to this report.
