Florida’s Republican Party has removed Christian Ziegler as party chairman amid a sex scandal and a sexual assault investigation. “No one voted for Christian Ziegler,” said Blaise Ingoglia, former Republican Party of Florida Chairman and current member of the Florida Senate. Ziegler, who has not been criminally charged, did not attend the meeting. CNN reached out to Ziegler for comment. The removal came after state party leadership suspended Ziegler and removed all his authority last month. The removal came after state party leadership suspended Ziegler and removed all his authority last month. Florida Congressmen Matt Gaetz and Byron Donalds attended the meeting, along with Florida’s Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez. Ziegler has been under investigation by the Sarasota Police Department since October. According to a search warrant affidavit, which CNN first obtained from the Florida Center for Government Accountability, Ziegler and his wife, Bridget, planned a three-way sexual encounter with the alleged victim on the day of the alleged assault on October 2, 2023, and “when the victim learned that Bridget could not make it, she changed her mind and canceled with Christian.” The Zieglers allegedly had a previous consensual sexual relationship with the accuser, according to the affidavit. Surveillance video showed Christian Ziegler arriving at the alleged victim’s residence on the day of the alleged assault, the affidavit says. The alleged victim said he entered the apartment and raped her on a bar stool, according to the affidavit. Police in Sarasota are also investigating if Ziegler broke Florida’s video voyeurism laws by recording the sexual encounter at the center of the investigation.
via cnn: Florida GOP removes Christian Ziegler from party chairmanship amid sexual assault investigation