The co-founder of the conservative extremist group Moms for Liberty has refused to resign from her position on a Florida school board, in spite of an active rape investigation into her husband.
Bridget Ziegler refused to step down from her position on the Sarasota school board, despite the board taking the rare step of calling for her resignation in a 4-1 vote. Last month, Ziegler’s husband, Florida GOP chair Christian Ziegler, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman.
Bridget Ziegler, who has not been accused of having done anything illegal, was defiant in her refusal to step down from the school board, a position she’s held for nine years, The New York Times reported.
“I am disappointed,” she said Tuesday. “I serve on another public board and this issue did not come up and we were able to forge ahead with the business of the board.”
The school board has no legal authority to remove Ziegler.
The Sarasota Police Department opened an investigation into Christian Ziegler in November after a woman accused him of rape. The accuser told police that she and both Zieglers had previously engaged in consensual sex with each other, but that she was raped by Christian after Bridget was unable to make it to an October rendezvous.
A search warrant affidavit obtained by the Orlando Sentinel says that Christian Ziegler showed up to the woman’s home and sexually assaulted her.
“The victim advised Christian did not wear a condom, and he stated ‘I’m leaving the same way I came in,’” the affidavit says.
Christian Ziegler has denied wrongdoing, claiming the encounter was consensual. He was seen on surveillance cameras entering and leaving the woman’s complex, according to the affidavit.
The allegations have rocked the GOP, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis calling on Ziegler to resign from his position as chair of the Florida Republican Party.
“I don’t see how we can continue with that investigation ongoing, given the gravity of those situations. I think he should step aside,” DeSantis said last month. “I think he should tend to that.”
Bridget Ziegler co-founded the group Moms for Liberty, which has pushed anti-LGBTQ+ agendas and worked to remove books from school classrooms that have themes of racial justice and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.