Christian Ziegler attorney says Republican chair will be ‘completely exonerated’
Christian Ziegler failed in his attempt to make Sarasota County a "Second Amendment S

Christian Ziegler
He's represented by criminal attorney Derek Byrd.

An attorney for Republican Party of Florida Chair Christian Ziegler expects him to be cleared of rape allegations.

Derek Byrd confirmed an investigation was underway and said Ziegler has fully cooperated with police.

“We acknowledge the reports that there is an investigation being conducted by the Sarasota Police Department regarding Mr. Ziegler,” Byrd said in a statement.

The hire of Byrd, a former President of the Sarasota County Bar Association, shows Ziegler has taken allegations seriously. A police report shows accusations were leveled against Ziegler on Oct. 4. The alleged incident, according to the report, occurred on Oct. 2.

A woman whose name was not publicly released accused Ziegler of the crime. A police report verifies an active criminal investigation, and that the accuser alleged she was raped, but enormous details were redacted as police stressed the investigation remains ongoing.

“Mr. Ziegler has been fully cooperative with every request made by the Sarasota Police Department,” Byrd said. “We are confident that once the police investigation is concluded that no charges will be filed and Mr. Ziegler will be completely exonerated.”

The accusations already have drawn national attention. The Florida Democratic Party has already called for Ziegler’s resignation as Republican state party chair.

The Republican Party of Sarasota, meanwhile, has offered little backing for Ziegler.

The party said it was “shocked and disappointed” by the reports.

“The Republican Party takes all such allegations of potential criminal conduct very seriously and will fully cooperate with investigators,” the report said.

State Attorney Ed Brodsky said the report was released to press before his office was informed of the accusation.

“I confirmed there is an active investigation. They (Sarasota police) have not submitted anything to my office,” Brodsky said. “Nothing has been sent to me, and I have no reason at this point to recuse myself. I have nothing to do now, but will perform my official duties if they submit something to us.”

Byrd acknowledged the public appetite for information but advised individuals to wait for facts to emerge.

“Unfortunately, public figures are often accused of acts that they did not commit whether it be for political purposes or financial gain,” the attorney said. “I would caution anyone to rush to judgment until the investigation is concluded.”

It’s unclear how long the investigation may take. A search warrant for information on Ziegler’s electronic devices has been served.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


6 comments

  • Sherman Arthur III

    November 30, 2023 at 3:33 pm

    Why is this news coming out now if it occurred in early August? If it was untrue wouldn’t they deny the information as soon as it is filed. Was there a cover up? Lastly, the allegations of rape are horrible, but also the school board leader drove the “don’t say gay” campaign and she had a female lover? Hypocrisy!

  • Larry Gillis, Libertarian (Cape Coral)

    November 30, 2023 at 3:40 pm

    “OFF WITH HIS HEAD”.
    Unsurprisingly, the Florida Democratic Party has already called for his resignation. This kind of knee-jerk Righteousness is the death-knell of politics in this country.
    Hopefully, there will be a just resolution of this situation.

    • Arm The Homeless

      November 30, 2023 at 3:45 pm

      He did get due consideration over the last 4 months this has been under investigation.

      This is hardly a ‘death knell’ more like a triumvirate of adults involved in what at least two of those adults have claimed are deviant and lascivious topics for kids to know about.

      Oops!

  • Beatrix Kiddo

    November 30, 2023 at 10:02 pm

    Best story of the year! It was only a matter of time before these kooks were exposed. The Zieglers are going down, and I’m sitting here with my popcorn watching it with glee.

  • Early Pitts Pegger in Chief

    December 1, 2023 at 9:26 am

    Don’t say Gay

    Do Gay

    • John Doe

      December 1, 2023 at 11:34 am

      If you can’t see the difference between foisting the homosexual agenda on kids grade K-4 and what adults do in the privacy of their own home, you have serious issues.

Comments are closed.


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