The fallout from Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler’s rape investigation has led a local chapter of Moms for Liberty — the far-right group of education activists co-founded by Ziegler’s wife, Bridget — to cut ties with the national organization.
Members of a Moms for Liberty chapter in Pennsylvania decided to split after national leaders defended the powerful Florida couple once the allegations became public, the chapter’s leader told NBC News. No charges have been filed, and Bridget Ziegler is not accused of any wrongdoing.
According to a search warrant affidavit shared with NBC News, a woman who had known the couple for two decades told police in Sarasota, Florida, that Christian Ziegler raped her in her home in October. He told investigators he had sex with the woman but it was consensual, according to the affidavit, and Bridget Ziegler told police that she and her husband had a consensual three-way sexual encounter with the woman last year.
Sarasota police haven’t confirmed or denied the affidavit’s authenticity. An attorney for Christian Ziegler said last week that he was confident that “no charges will be filed and Mr. Ziegler will be completely exonerated.”
Last week, Moms for Liberty posted on X that the allegations were “another attempt today to ruin the reputation of a strong woman fighting for America,” before deleting the post. Bridget Ziegler, a member of the Sarasota County School Board, left the group after its founding in early 2021.
Clarissa Paige, who served as the Moms for Liberty chapter chair in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, told NBC News that the matter “technically should have never been a Moms for Liberty issue, but by taking that stance … it became their fight, and it shouldn’t have.” She also said that her reaction to Bridget Ziegler’s apparent revelation about her sexual history was “Holy buckets, this is not OK.” (Ziegler did not respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.) “We can’t fight against grooming of students or kids and then that’s happening,” Paige said. Members of the Pennsylvania chapter are forming an independent group, and Paige said she has heard from members in other states interested in doing the same.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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