佛罗里达州劳德代尔堡佛罗里达州共和党主席表示，他不会因一名妇女指控他强奸她而辞职，并在给支持者的电子邮件中称自己是无辜的。他没有提及任何扰乱该州保守政治的指控细节。
克里斯蒂安·齐格勒周六向州共和党人发送了这份声明，称他和他的妻子布里奇特·齐格勒(Bridget Ziegler)成为目标，因为他们是“如此响亮的政治声音”。他的妻子共同创立了保守派团体“母亲争取自由”。罗恩·德桑蒂斯在佛罗里达的学校里减少性教育。
德桑蒂斯上周表示，尽管克里斯蒂安齐格勒在被证明有罪之前是无辜的，但他应该辞职，以避免成为他们政党的干扰。齐格勒坚称他不会辞职。
40岁的齐格勒写道:“我们要拯救一个国家，在我等待这个过程结束的时候，我不会让虚假的犯罪指控把这个任务搁置起来。”作为一名长期的共和党活动家，他在2月份登上了该党的最高职位。
齐格勒没有受到任何指控，但萨拉索塔警方的调查仍在进行中。根据警方提交的搜查证宣誓书，原告认识克里斯蒂安·齐格勒已有20年，他在10月份告诉警方，他强行进入她的公寓并强奸了她。
在他周六的电子邮件中，齐格勒没有提及他告诉侦探他确实与该女子发生了性关系，但这是两厢情愿的。他也没有对他的妻子说，这对夫妇和那名女子在一年多前有过一次集体性行为。
“我的家庭坚如磐石。我的妻子150%支持我，我们有办法保护我们的(三个)孩子，就像我们面对所有以前的袭击一样，”克里斯蒂安·齐格勒写道。齐格勒周日没有回复寻求进一步置评的电话和短信。
DeSantis发言人Jeremy Redfern周日没有回复就齐格勒拒绝辞职一事寻求评论的电话和短信。
警方声称齐格勒与一名女子发生了集体性行为，这导致民主党人和同性恋权利领袖指责这对夫妇虚伪，因为布丽奇特·齐格勒共同创立的组织“自由之母”已经加入了德桑蒂斯和佛罗里达州共和党对性少数群体+事业的反击。
Bridget Ziegler也是萨拉索塔县学校董事会的当选成员，并被DeSantis任命为现在监管华特·迪士尼世界土地开发的董事会成员。在公司反对他限制学校性教育的法案后，德桑蒂斯去年通过立法解散了迪士尼控制的董事会。
调查性新闻机构佛罗里达政府问责中心(Florida Center for Government account ability)获得了一份警方报告和详细说明这些指控的搜查证宣誓书后，对克里斯蒂安齐格勒(Christian Ziegler)的强奸指控于上周公开。
原告的名字在文件中被删改了。美联社没有提到可能的受害者性侵犯没有他们的允许。
根据证词中引用的短信，该女子和齐格勒计划在10月2日再次进行集体性爱，但该女子在布里奇特·齐格勒“无法成行”后退出了
这名妇女说，当天晚些时候，她发现克里斯蒂安·齐格勒在她公寓的走廊里，他把她推进去，然后强奸了她。
在调查人员监控的短信和电话交谈中，齐格勒在怀疑他们被录音之前，向该女子提供了“经济帮助”。
在11月2日接受侦探采访时，齐格勒说，性行为是两厢情愿的，他已经记录下来。他说，他删除了视频，然后在强奸指控浮出水面后恢复了视频。
书面陈述称，侦探于11月2日没收了克里斯蒂安·齐格勒的手机。他们的发现都没有公开。
Florida Republican chairman won't resign over rape allegation, saying he is innocent
__FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. --The chair of Florida's Republican Party says he will not resign over a woman's allegation that he raped her, saying in an email to supporters that he is innocent. He did not address any specifics of the accusation that has roiled the state's conservative politics.
Christian Ziegler sent the statement to state Republicans on Saturday, saying that he and his wife, Bridget Ziegler, are being targeted because they are “such loud political voices.” His wife co-founded the conservative group Moms for Liberty, which has led a campaign with Gov.Ron DeSantisto roll back sex education in Florida schools.
DeSantis said last week that while Christian Ziegler is innocent until proven guilty, he should resign to avoid becoming a distraction to their party. Ziegler insists he won't quit.
“We have a country to save and I am not going to let false allegations of a crime put that mission on the bench as I wait for this process to wrap up,” wrote Ziegler, 40. A longtime GOP activist, he ascended to the state party's top post in February.
No charges have been filed against Ziegler, but the Sarasota Police investigation remains open. The accuser, who has known Christian Ziegler for 20 years, told police in October that he forced his way into her apartment and raped her, according to search warrant affidavits filed by police.
In his Saturday email, Ziegler did not address having told detectives that he did have sex with the woman but that it was consensual. He also didn't address his wife telling detectives that the couple and the woman had group sex once, more than a year ago.
“My family is rock solid. My wife is behind me 150% and we have methods in place to protect our (three) children, just as we have with all previous attacks that we have faced,” Christian Ziegler wrote. The Zieglers did not return calls and text messages Sunday seeking further comment.
DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern did not return a call and text message Sunday seeking comment on Ziegler’s refusal to resign.
The police avadavits saying that the Zieglers had group sex with a woman have led Democrats and gay rights leaders to accuse the couple of hypocrisy, given that an organization Bridget Ziegler cofounded — Moms for Liberty — has joined DeSantis and the Florida GOP in pushing back against LGBTQ+ causes.
Bridget Ziegler is also an elected member of the Sarasota County school board and was appointed by DeSantis to the board that now oversees Walt Disney World’s land development. DeSantis pushed through legislation last year disbanding a Disney-controlled board after the company opposed his bill that limits sex education in schools.
The rape accusation against Christian Ziegler became public last week after the Florida Center for Government Accountability, an investigative news organization, obtained a police report and the search warrant affidavits detailing the allegations.
The accuser's name is redacted in the documents. The Associated Press does not name possible victims ofsexual assaultwithout their permission.
According to text messages cited in the affidavit, the woman and the Zieglers had planned to again have group sex on Oct. 2, but the woman backed out after Bridget Ziegler “couldn't make it.”
The woman says she found Christian Ziegler in her apartment's hallway later that day, that he pushed her inside and then raped her.
In text and phone conversations monitored by investigators, Ziegler offered the woman “financial help” before becoming suspicious that they were being recorded.
In a Nov. 2 interview with detectives, Ziegler said the sex was consensual and that he had recorded it. He said he deleted the video, then recovered it after the rape allegation surfaced.
Detectives seized Christian Ziegler’s phone on Nov. 2, the affidavits say. None of what they have found has been made public.
