In light of the GOP's record on the issue, it was easy to predict that Ziegler would dig his heels in. Moms for Liberty meets its match: Parents in this swing suburban district are fighting back If anything, rape charges just burnish one's reputation in MAGA circles, which have made a virtue out of toxic masculinity. Neither he nor the voters he's speaking to give a single fig about sexual violence. DeSantis, who is supposedly challenging Trump for the nomination, hasn't even tried to make Trump's history of sexual assault an issue. Jean Carroll just this year, which comports with Trump's previous bragging about how he likes to "grab them by the pussy." Yet he is still sailing to the Republican nomination. After all, a court found Donald Trump responsible for sexually assaulting E. Republicans do not hold rape allegations, no matter how credible, against their leaders. We can rule out sincere concerns about sexual violence as the reason the Zieglers are looking friendless this week. DeSantis even appointed her to the tourism board he constructed to harass Disney for daring to speak out against his anti-LGBTQ agenda. Bridget Ziegler played a strong hand in writing Florida's " don't say gay" law. He also did innumerable events highlighting the group's work in banning books in school, terrorizing teachers for being LGBTQ or allies, and intimidating educators out of teaching facts about history that conservatives would rather keep hidden. He gave a keynote address at the Moms for Liberty conference in Philadelphia in July. DeSantis aligned himself so firmly with Moms for Liberty that they seemed all but an official part of his presidential campaign. The speed with which the Zieglers are being tossed overboard is fascinating because it wasn't that long ago that the couple were some of the biggest rising stars in the GOP, especially in Florida. While Moms for Liberty claims they "stand with" Bridget Ziegler, they also closed replies on Twitter and put out a statement emphasizing that "she stepped back from the organization’s board in 2021." As confirmed by the Washington Post, however, Zieglers remains on the group's advisory board. The Republican Party of Sarasota released a statement saying they were "shocked and disappointed" by the allegations. The Zieglers don't seem to have a lot of defenders. Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics? Subscribe to her newsletter Standing Room Only.ĭeSantis isn't alone in this, either. He called on Ziegler to resign, saying, "He’s innocent till proven guilty, but we just can’t have a party chair that is under that type of scrutiny." Ron DeSantis, whose support of Moms for Liberty played a huge role in the group's skyrocketing to national prominence, didn't mince words when asked about the allegations Thursday night. Just ask Jerry Falwell Jr.īut what is genuinely startling - downright shocking, even - is there are signs that these revelations could result in bona fide political consequences for the Zieglers. Time and again, we have seen this story play out: The self-appointed guardians of everyone else's sexual morality often have rather exotic sex lives of their own. Just as predictable were the details dug up by local reporters for the Florida Trident that "both the woman and Bridget Ziegler independently told police they had engaged with Christian Ziegler in a three-way sexual encounter more than a year before the incident, according to a search warrant in the case released late Friday." According to police, the woman had been alone with Christian Ziegler, who is also the chair of the Florida GOP, the night of the alleged rape. It hasn't even been two weeks since the release of a similar story outing a Philadelphia organizer for Moms of Liberty for his 2012 conviction of sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy. Lurid finger-pointing from conservatives is often, as most folks have figured out by now, a form of psychological projection. The modus operandi of Moms for Liberty and their allies is implying, often outright falsely accusing, everyone from drag queens to school librarians of being sexual predators. But both Bridget Ziegler and the woman who reported the rape stated there had been only one three-way encounter.Īt first, there was little that was surprising about a report that Christian Ziegler, the husband of Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, is under police investigation in Sarasota, FL following a rape allegation. A previous version of this story cited reporting of a three-way sexual relationship lasting three years. This story has been updated to reflect details from affidavits recently made public.
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