Christian Ziegler: Florida Republicans fire party boss over rape claim

The Republican Party of Florida has fired its chairman, Christian Ziegler, as police investigate a sexual assault allegation against him.

Monday's vote to oust him was held in private, and was overwhelmingly against keeping him on, according to US media.

Mr Ziegler is accused of raping a woman with whom he and his wife had a prior consensual sexual relationship.

He has not been charged with a crime, denies rape allegations and had refused to resign despite pressure from allies.

"I believe it was almost unanimous vote to remove Christian Ziegler, which I believe is the absolute right thing to do," a source who attended the meeting on Monday in Tallahassee told NBC News.

"And I want to reiterate that we are spending a lot of time and energy on this, on this meeting instead of focusing on the things we need to focus on, and that's simply because Christian Ziegler did not do the right thing and resign."

At an emergency meeting in December, the Republican board voted to strip Mr Ziegler - who took up the post in February 2023- of his pay and authority.

The Sarasota Police Department in Florida is investigating a woman's accusations that Mr Ziegler raped her at her apartment in October.

According to heavily redacted police documents, Mr Ziegler, his wife, Bridget Ziegler and the woman had planned a threesome that day, but Mrs Ziegler was unable to attend. Mr Ziegler arrived alone, the complaint alleges, and assaulted the woman.

Last week, police expanded their probe to include allegations that he illegally recorded his sexual encounter with his accuser without consent.

An investigation is ongoing. No charges have been filed against Mr Ziegler, who has said the encounter was consensual. He did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

The accusation has brought a rapid fall from grace for the Zieglers, a conservative Florida power couple with growing political influence on the national stage.

Bridget Ziegler, an elected member of the Sarasota County School Board, is co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a national right-wing advocacy group born out of a resistance to Covid-19 school closures and mask mandates.

She has resisted calls to resign, fielding criticism from many who cast Mrs Ziegler - who with her husband has promoted anti-LGBT policies - as a hypocrite.

State Republicans in Michigan over the weekend also voted to oust their party chairwoman, Kristina Karamo, due to claims of poor fundraising.