Florida’s Republican chair has denied a woman’s rape allegation in a case roiling state politics

By TERRY SPENCER
Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The chair of Florida’s Republican Party is denying a woman’s allegation that he raped her in October. According to police search warrant affidavits, Christian Ziegler said in recorded phone calls, text messages and a police interview that his sex with the accuser was consensual. The documents also say that Ziegler’s wife, Bridget Ziegler, told detectives that the couple and the woman had sex over a year ago. Bridget Ziegler is a co-founder of the conservative group Moms for Liberty, which has fought against LBGTQ+ causes, and the case has led to accusations of hypocrisy against the Zieglers. The case has roiled Florida’s Republican Party and conservative politics.