Bridget and Christian Ziegler: Everything We Know About the MAGA-Couple Scandal Involving Threesomes, an Alleged Payout, a Rape Accusation, and the Height of Republican Hypocrisy
A rape accusation against the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. Same-sex sexual encounters involving a woman who has supported Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. Allegations of secretly recorded threesomes. An alleged demand for $2 million to go away. A shout-out from Donald Trump. What do these things have in common? They all involve Bridget and Christian Ziegler, the Florida MAGA couple who’ve found themselves in the news a lot lately, and not for anything good.
Here’s everything we know about the duo, and their scandal, so far.
Who are Bridget and Christian Ziegler?
They’re a “Florida Republican power couple.” He’s the chairman of the state’s Republican Party and she’s the cofounder of the conservative group Moms for Liberty, sits on the Sarasota County School Board, and was appointed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis to the board that took over Disney’s special taxing district after it spoke out against his bigoted “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Why are they in the news?
Primarily because in November, Christian was accused of raping a woman a month prior. According to a search warrant affidavit, Christian and Bridget, who are married, had made plans to have sex with the alleged victim on October 2, but after Bridget couldn’t make it, the woman canceled, writing in a text message, “Sorry I was mostly in for her.” According to the affidavit, minutes later, she opened her apartment door to find Christian, who, the affidavit says, proceeded to enter her apartment and rape her.
Per the affidavit, later that month detectives monitored Instagram DMs between Christian and the woman, in which he allegedly asked several times how he could help her, with her responding, “You caused this. You can’t help me.” Later, detectives wrote in the affidavit, he “repeatedly referred to the victim as his friend in an effort to minimize the situation. He would deflect by trying to change the subject when confronted.” At one point, he wrote, “Where r u? Wanna meet and chat? Worried about you. You are my friend,” to which the victim responded, “Hell no not after what you did to me. Do you not understand I am terrified of you?”
Christian Ziegler, who is under criminal investigation but thus far not been charged, has denied the rape allegation and claimed the interaction was consensual.
Where does Bridget Ziegler come into all this?
According to the search warrant affidavit, the Zieglers, per NBC News, “had a longtime consensual sexual relationship with the accuser.” Bridget Ziegler has not been accused of wrongdoing, but she at least looks guilty of incredible hypocrisy given her anti-LGBTQ+ work. Ziegler has said she had a hand in helping write Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, and Moms for Liberty, which Ziegler cofounded, has been labeled an extremist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center. It advocates, per The Seattle Times, “against school curricula that mention LGBTQ+ rights, race, critical race theory and discrimination, while multiple chapters have also campaigned to ban from school libraries books that address gender and sexuality issues.”
The group has said two girls kissing during a homecoming event was “lewd” and “traumatic”; it tried to get a book with an illustration of seahorses linking tails banned; and it attacked the Trevor Project, which works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ+ teens. Last year, on an episode of Field Report With Paola Ramos, a Moms for Liberty activist said LGBTQ+ students should be taught separately from their straight, cisgender peers, likening the situation to “children with autism, Down Syndrome” being put in separate classes.
What are the people around the Zieglers saying?
The entire Sarasota County School Board has demanded Bridget Ziegler resign, which she has refused to do, saying this week she was “disappointed” that they asked her to step down. Paulina Testerman, one of the founders of Support Our Schools, which defends public education, told The Daily Beast, “Many of us have stood at the podium of countless school board meetings and listened to Mrs. Ziegler drag the LGBT+ community, so it’s natural to want to celebrate when bullies get what’s coming.” Ziegler’s term ends in 2026, and only DeSantis can remove her.
As for Christian Ziegler, the calls for him to resign as chair of the Florida Republican Party have been deafening, with everyone from DeSantis to the Speaker of the Florida House and the state Senate president, as well as Senator Rick Scott, calling for him to resign. Michael Thompson, the leader of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee, told NBC News he guesses just 2% of party leaders want Ziegler to stay on as chair.
