The Florida GOP removed Christian Ziegler as the party chair amid a sexual assault investigation resulting from a sex scandal involving the lawmaker, his wife, and another woman.
In a statement, former Republican Party of Florida Chairman, Blaise Ingoglia said that no one voted in support of Ziegler. The latter, while not being criminally charged, did not attend the meeting.
Christian Ziegler Sexual Assault Investigation
The development comes after state party leadership suspended the official and removed all of his authority last month. Florida party members voted to replace Ziegler with Evan Power, who had been the vice chairman of the state party.
The meeting was also attended by Florida Congressmen Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds along with Florida's Lieutenant Gov. Jeanette Nunez. The situation comes as Ziegler has been under investigation by the Sarasota Police Department since October.
The search warrant affidavit noted that the party chair and his wife, Bridget Ziegler, planned a three-way sexual encounter with the alleged victim on the day of the alleged assault on Oct. 2, 2023. However, when the victim learned that Bridget could not make it, she changed her mind and canceled the meeting, as per CNN.
The Zieglers apparently had a previous consensual sexual relationship with the victim prior to the latest incident. Surveillance video showed the Florida party chair arriving at the home of the victim on the day of the alleged assault. The latter said that the lawmaker entered the apartment and raped her on a bar stool.
Sarasota law enforcement personnel are also investigating if Ziegler broke Florida's video voyeurism laws after he recorded the sexual encounter at the center of the probe. The state party chair had argued that the sexual encounter was consensual.
In a statement last month, Ziegler's attorney, Derek Byrd said that the lawmaker would be cleared of wrongdoing. He added that they are confident that after the conclusion of the police investigation, no charges will be filed against the official and that he would be exonerated.
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Removed From Party Chairmanship
The vote to remove Ziegler came during an emergency meeting in Tallahassee and was largely expected following the Sarasota Police Department's rape investigation becoming public. Afterward, the state party posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, congratulating Power on becoming the new chair, according to NBC News.
Officials were prompted to hold the emergency meeting on Monday after Ziegler maintained his innocence and refused to step down as party chair. The new chairman, Power, lost in a race against the suspected individual during the 2023 race.
But in recent weeks, the party's biggest names endorsed the vice chairman to take over as the only other candidate for the position was Republican National Committeeman Peter Faeman. On top of the rape allegations, law enforcement personnel expanded their probe last week into the alleged filming of the sexual assault.
In the middle of last month, the Florida party's executive committee censured Ziegler, removing his salary of $120,000. The development followed Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott, and some county-level Republican chairs urged him to step down, said the New York Times.
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