A former high school student in Florida demanded that the co-founder of conservative action group Moms For Liberty resign from the school board – not because she had a threesome, but rather because she was ‘terrible’ at her job.
Bridget Ziegler, a close ally of Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, and a strong voice against LGBTQ rights, was forced on December 12 to sit through an excruciating meeting of the Sarasota County school board, on which she sits.
The board meeting was used to detail allegations that she had a threesome with another woman and her husband, and that her husband, chair of the Florida Republican Party, had been accused of rape.
Since the accusations emerged, Christian Ziegler has held onto his post as GOP chairman, but has been stripped of his salary and authority.
The GOP heavyweight’s wife sat stone-faced throughout the school board meeting, and was confronted by Zander Moricz, a former class president at Pine View School, who is now at Harvard.
Bridget Ziegler’s husband Christian Ziegler, chair of the Florida Republican Party, has been accused of raping a woman the couple allegedly had a ‘ménage a trois’ with
Bridget is seen sitting stone-faced during the Sarasota County school board meeting on December 12
Zander Moricz, a former class president at Pine View School, called for her to resign from the board ‘because you are terrible at your job, not because you had a threesome’
Moricz, who is gay, said Ziegler must resign because she was not fit for the job as a member of the school board.
‘Bridget, our first-ever interaction was when you retweeted a hate article against me from the Nationalist when I was a Sarasota County school student,’ said Moricz.
‘You do not deserve to be on the Sarasota County School Board, but you do not deserve to be removed from it for having a threesome.
‘That defeats the lesson we’ve been trying to teach you, which is that a politician’s job is to serve their community, not to police their personal lives.
‘Bridget, you deserve to be fired from your job because you are terrible at your job. Not because you had a threesome.’
Moricz, who now runs a nonprofit aimed at encouraging young people to get involved in politics, is a plaintiff in the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ lawsuit against DeSantis and the state of Florida.
Ziegler was instrumental in crafting the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which prevents the discussion of LGBTQ issues from kindergarten through to third grade, and only in limited ways with older students. Critics such as Moricz say it is a bid to erase gay people from society.
Moricz in 2022 accused administrators at his school of censorship after he was told not to reference his activism or sexuality in his graduation speech.
He referred to sexuality, in his address, by the euphemism ‘curly hair’.
At the December 12 meeting, the school board voted to recommend Ziegler’s removal – but the vote was non-binding.
Video reportedly shows Bridget, the co-founder of Moms for Liberty, and an unidentified woman
Protesters calling for the resignation of Bridget Ziegler are seen on December 12
The board voted to request Bridget Ziegler resign, but the vote was not binding
Activists are seen protesting outside the December 12 meeting of the school board
DeSantis could force her out, but the school board stopped short of writing to him to request her removal.
Her husband, meanwhile, faces potentially being kicked out of office at a January 8 meeting in Tallahassee. On December 17, he was censured by the party.
The incident, which a police report indicates took place at a home in Sarasota, was reported to police in early October.
The accuser, who has known Ziegler for 20 years, told police that when Bridget backed out of the plan to have sex, she texted Christian saying: ‘Sorry I was mostly in for her,’ according to an affidavit.
Later that evening the woman claims that as she went to leave her apartment she discovered Ziegler outside in the hallway – and alleges he then entered her property and raped her.
Weeks later, detectives began to monitor calls and messages sent by Christian Ziegler to the accuser, according to the affidavit.
‘Where r u? Wanna meet and chat? Worried about you. You are my friend,’ Ziegler allegedly wrote in one message via Instagram.
‘Hell no not after what you did to me,’ the woman responded. ‘Do you not understand I am terrified of you?’
Moricz is taking legal action against Ron DeSantis over the Don’t Say Gay bill
Bridget previously earned the endorsement of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for her Sarasota school board seat. He has since encouraged her husband to step down amid the sex scandal
A 911 call, obtained by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, made by a friend of the alleged victim, reveals she confided in the friend about being raped.
‘She told me she was raped,’ the friend informed the dispatcher on October 4.
‘She’s saying she’s scared, that the person who raped her came to her house, so she’s scared to leave… I’m worried about her right now,’ the friend explained.
In text and phone conversations monitored by investigators, Ziegler offered the woman ‘financial help’ before becoming suspicious that they were being recorded.
Ziegler’s attorney, Derek Byrd, said in a statement: ‘We acknowledge the reports that there is an investigation being conducted by the Sarasota Police Department regarding Mr Ziegler.’
He said his client ‘has been fully cooperative’ with police.
‘We are confident that once the police investigation is concluded that no charges will be filed and Mr Ziegler will be completely exonerated.’
Bridget Ziegler has not commented on the threesome, or the accusations against her husband.