Former Florida GOP chair won’t face charges over sexual encounter that cost him his job
Christian Ziegler, 40, cleared of video voyeurism and rape
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler will not face prosecution following an investigation into suspicions of rape and video voyeurism.
Prosecutors made the announcement Wednesday regarding video voyeurism. Ziegler already had been cleared of the rape allegations by police back in January, according to the Associated Press.
His accuser made inconsistent statements about whether she consented to the video made by Christian Ziegler during the October encounter at her home, prosecutors said in a memo obtained by the AP.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The woman told investigators that "she could have consented to the video being taken — she is simply unable to recall one way or the other," the memo said.
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Christian Ziegler addresses attendees at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Ziegler maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Mr. Ziegler is relieved to be completely cleared of the false allegations and any criminal wrongdoing. We cooperated at every stage of investigation and as difficult as it was, we remained quiet out of respect for the investigation," his attorney Derek Byrd said.
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Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler was the subject of criminal sexual battery investigation. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A complaint against Ziegler was filed with the Sarasota Police Department on Oct. 4, stating that the alleged sexual battery occurred inside a woman’s Sarasota home on Oct. 2.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ziegler's wife, who co-founded the conservative group Moms for Liberty which deals with education in Florida schools, told police that she, the victim and her husband had consensual sex together over a year before the alleged crime occurred, Politico reported.
Bridget Ziegler, founder of Moms for Liberty, left, and Christian Ziegler Florida GOP Chairman, right. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, left, Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, right.)
According to text messages cited in the affidavit, the woman and the Zieglers had planned to again have group sex on Oct. 2, but the woman backed out after Bridget Ziegler "couldn't make it."
In a Nov. 2 interview with detectives, 40-year-old Ziegler said the sex was consensual and that he had recorded it. He said he deleted the video, then recovered it after the rape allegation surfaced.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Christian Ziegler, seen here with President Trump, was not charged with a crime and said the sexual encounter was consensual. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
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The controversy led the state Republican Party to remove Ziegler as chair in January. There have also been efforts in Sarasota to force Bridget Ziegler from the school board, but she has refused to resign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.