Newly released documents from a now-closed criminal investigation into former state GOP chairperson Christian Ziegler show that his wife, Bridget Ziegler, directed her husband to find women in bars for the two of them to have sexual encounters with.
A memo written by a Sarasota police detective described “numerous” text messages between the Zieglers “where they are on the prowl” for women they would both be interested in. The memo describes Christian Ziegler secretly taking photos of women, and says Bridget Ziegler, a Sarasota County School Board member, told him to pretend to take pictures of his beer so he wouldn’t get caught.
“Don’t come home until your d–k is wet,” Bridget Ziegler said in one message, according to the memo.
Bridget Ziegler, who co-founded the conservative education advocacy group Moms for Liberty, did not respond to phone calls or emails Friday. Nor did Christian Ziegler. The couple is suing to try to block the release of more text messages and other records from public view. The Times is among the media organizations seeking disclosure of the records.
Bridget Ziegler has advocated for legislation and policies that some say are anti-LGBTQ+. As details have come to light about her involvement in sexual encounters with women, protesters have rallied at school board meetings to protest what they say is a hypocritical divide between her private behavior and public stances, and to call for her resignation.
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Earlier this month, Bridget Ziegler proposed a resolution to reject new federal Title IX protections against gender identity discrimination. (The school board later passed the resolution.) She’s previously backed the Parental Rights in Education Act, referred to by some as Don’t Say Gay, which prohibits classroom instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation.
The police memo released this week was part of the now-dropped criminal investigation into Christian Ziegler after a woman claimed he sexually assaulted her. The woman had known the Zieglers for years and had had at least one threesome encounter with the couple, the investigation found.
The Sarasota Police Department opted against charging Ziegler with sexual battery after saying a video appeared to show consensual sex but sent a video voyeurism charge to the state attorney. The state attorney declined to file charges.
The newly released memo from detective Angela Cox noted that Christian Ziegler’s phone also had “numerous sexual videos” involving other women.
A Sarasota Police Department spokesperson declined to answer questions Friday about whether the agency contacted the women in the videos, saying that there is “active litigation related to this matter.”
