The Sarasota Police Department is currently running a criminal investigation over allegations of sexual battery against Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler.
As of Thursday, police confirmed that investigators have not charged Ziegler with any crimes yet.
Police released a heavily redacted report, obscuring details about the accusations, but claiming it involved a rape allegation against Ziegler.
The complaint was filed Oct. 4, and stated that the alleged sexual battery occurred inside a woman’s Sarasota home on Oct. 2, according to the report. Among words not redacted in the report are “rape” and “sexual assault complaint.”
Florida GOP Chair Christian Ziegler is the subject of a criminal sexual battery investigation. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/File)
Earlier on Thursday, Ziegler’s attorney, Derek Byrd, released a statement to FOX 13 Tampa Bay acknowledging the reports of the investigation, saying that Ziegler has fully cooperated with the police requests.
“We are confident that once the police investigation is concluded that no charges will be filed and Mr. Ziegler will be completely exonerated,” Byrd said in a statement.
The Republican Party of Sarasota County also released a statement Thursday:
“We are shocked and disappointed to hear of the reports concerning Republican Party of Florida Chair and Sarasota County State Committeeman Christian Ziegler, and his wife, Sarasota County School Board Member Bridget Ziegler. The Republican Party takes all such allegations of potential criminal conduct very seriously and will fully cooperate with investigators.”
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Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler, left, faces sexual battery allegations, according to the Sarasota Police Department. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP/File)
The Florida Democratic Party has also called on Ziegler to step down as the GOP chairman.
“This is serious. We demand his immediate resignation,” Nikki Fried, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, posted on X.
Ziegler is the head of the Florida GOP and the husband of Sarasota school board member Bridget Ziegler, who is also a co-founder of Moms for Liberty.
Attendees at the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors National Summit in Philadelphia in June. (Joshua Comins/Fox News)
“Bridget was an original founder of Moms for Liberty, but she stepped back from the organization’s board in 2021. We have learned long ago to not believe everything we read online, and we are confident she will get to tell her side of things to those who are interested in more than clickbait,” Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich, Moms for Liberty Founders told Fox News Digital.
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According to the Florida Center for Government Accountability, Christian Ziegler has deep-rooted ties to both Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Trump, who called out Ziegler’s name in a recent speech earlier this month during the “Florida Freedom Summit” in Kissimmee, and said he was doing a “fantastic job.”