Florida Republicans have voted to remove state party chairman Christian Ziegler, who is facing rape and video voyeurism allegations.
Sarasota County Police Department announced last year that it was investigating allegations that Mr Ziegler raped a woman who he and his wife, Bridget, the co-founder of right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ group Moms for Liberty, were allegedly in a long-term consensual relationship with.
Mr Ziegler has denied any wrongdoing and no charges have yet been brought against him.
He did not attend Monday’s meeting in Tallahassee and had already been stripped of his power, censured and had his salary reduced to $1 by the party. No successor has been voted on by the party’s board, reported WWSB.
He is accused of entering the woman’s home on 2 October and raping her when she refused to have sex with him without his wife present, an affidavit shared with The Independent stated.
The first affidavit alleges that Mr Ziegler told detectives the encounter was consensual and that he filmed it but deleted the footage when the allegations arose.
Now, it appears that investigators are looking into the video recording claims further, according to the newly unsealed affidavit filed on 11 December.
Christian Ziegler addresses attendees at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit in November 2023— (AP)
The affidavit describes that Mr Ziegler violated laws prohibiting Video Voyeurism by filming the sexual encounter without the woman’s consent.
Mr Ziegler allegedly showed investigators a two-and-a-half minute video of the sexual encounter, the affidavit obtained by the outlet said.
The investigators went on to ask the victim and Ms Ziegler about the video, both claiming they did not know about the footage and had not seen it.
Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler listens to public comments in December 2023, after her fellow school board members approved a resolution calling on her to resign— (AP)
“The victim did not give Ziegler consent to take this video of them having sex,” the affidavit reportedly said.
The Independent has reached out to Mr Ziegler for comment.
