Rape and Threesome Accusations Stalk Florida GOP Leaders

An accusation of rape and revelations Florida’s Republican state chair and his wife engage in threesomes upended Sunshine State politics.

Republican Party of Florida Chair Christian Ziegler has largely limited his comments on a two-month-old police investigation of a rape allegation. Ziegler is married to Bridget Ziegler, a co-founder of Moms For Liberty, and both admitted to police they engaged in a threesome with his accuser more than a year ago, according to a search warrant for his digital records.

The scandal prompted political leaders from both sides of the aisle to demand Ziegler resign as GOP state chair. That includes Gov. Ron DeSantis, as well as leaders of both chambers of the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature.

“I don’t see how he can continue with that investigation ongoing given the gravity of those situations,” DeSantis told ABC News the day news broke of the rape accusation.

The Zieglers’ attorney, Derek Byrd, said a police investigation should prove any accusations of criminal wrongdoing wrong.

“Unfortunately, public figures are often accused of acts that they did not commit whether it be for political purposes or financial gain,” Byrd said. “I would caution anyone to rush to judgment until the investigation is concluded.”

Related: Sexual Assault, Secret Throuple: New Allegations Against Florida GOP Power Couple

A search warrant lays out some accusations the Zieglers have not countered. The woman accusing Ziegler of rape, whose name has not been released, told police Christian Ziegler contacted her about a threesome. On October 2, he reached out about an encounter but said his wife Bridget could not come. “Sorry I was mostly in for her” the woman replied by text.

But she said Ziegler showed up anyway, caught her as she tried to leave her apartment with her dog, and then raped her, as detailed in the warrant. She said Ziegler did not use a condom, and then told her “I’m leaving the same way I came in.”

The woman spoke to police two days later. That started an investigation, where police confirmed via video surveillance that Ziegler had visited the apartment at the time in question. Police interviewed both Zieglers.

Bridget Ziegler acknowledged the three had been in a sexual encounter together more than a year prior, and said that happened just once. Christian Ziegler said he had video of the encounter, and had uploaded it to Google Drive. At the time the warrant was written, police were still trying to obtain a copy.

Christian Ziegler so far has rebuffed any calls for his resignation, and he claims many elected officials have called him to offer moral support.

“From Congressmen, state elected leaders, prominent social conservative leaders and county party leaders, I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support that has been sent my way,” Ziegler said in an email to Republican Party of Florida members. “It is impossible to fully understand how appreciative I am of those conversations.”

But publicly, the most any elected official has asserted is a desire for patience. Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, a Republican who survived a headline-making scandal two years ago without any criminal charges, said no one should push Ziegler out of the party. Gaetz was previously accused of transporting an underage girl across state lines for sex but prosecutors ultimately never indicted him.

But for many on both sides, the non-criminal acts both Zieglers admitted to warrant an exit from public life.

“Christian Ziegler must resign. To not step away would send a chilling message to the women of Florida about how the Republican Party views sexual assault,” said Florida Rep. Fentrice Driskell, Democratic Leader in the Florida House.

Many said it’s not that the Zieglers engaged in three-way sexual encounters, but that both political leaders have led the charge of villainizing LGBTQ+ people in court.

Bridget Ziegler stood by DeSantis’ side at a signing ceremony for the state’s infamous “don’t say gay” law forbidding teaching from including anything about gender identity or sexual orientation in instruction.

Christian Ziegler, meanwhile, has accused LGBTQ+ rights groups like Equality Florida of pushing “for the sexualization of kids” by issuing sensitivity guidelines for schools.

"In speaking with colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, it's not necessarily that they engaged in an alternative lifestyle that bothers people,” said Florida Rep. Spencer Roach, a Republican. “It's holding themselves out as a paragon of Christian conservative values, and then living this double life behind the scenes."