Ousted Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler will not be charged with sexual battery

Local police in Florida announced Friday that they won’t be charging the ousted chairman of the Florida Republican Party, Christian Ziegler, with sexual battery but are recommending that he face a felony charge of video voyeurism.

In a news release, the Sarasota Police Department said that its investigation of a rape allegation had determined that Ziegler and his accuser’s sexual encounter was “likely consensual,” but they also concluded that he had recorded the encounter without the accuser’s permission. Police have sent a probable cause affidavit to the Florida State Attorney’s Office on the video voyeurism allegation.

In Florida, people convicted of felony video voyeurism can be punished with up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to allegations in a search warrant affidavit, Ziegler and his wife, conservative activist Bridget Ziegler, planned to have a sexual encounter with a woman in early October. But the woman told police that she canceled after Bridget Ziegler backed out and that Christian Ziegler arrived at her home anyway and raped her. According to the affidavit, the accuser and Bridget Ziegler both told police that the three of them had previously had a consensual sexual encounter.

An attorney for Christian Ziegler said in a statement Friday that “since day one, we have been confident Mr. Ziegler would be exonerated from these baseless allegations.” The attorney, Derek Byrd, added:

He has been completely honest, forthright, and has been fully cooperative with law enforcement at every stage of this investigation. While we are disappointed that the Sarasota Police Department ‘punted’ the decision on the remaining portion of the case to the State Attorney’s office, we strongly believe that the State Attorney will not prosecute Mr. Ziegler for any crime.

Ziegler’s political stature has been diminished tremendously since the allegations surfaced last fall. Last week, he was officially booted from his position as chair of the Florida GOP after rejecting calls to step down from top Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott. That ouster came after Florida Republicans voted to strip Ziegler of his power and reduce his salary to $1.

And while Friday’s news has some upside for Ziegler — he won’t be charged with rape, after all — this story appears far from over.