Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler and her husband are suing police and prosecutors in Florida to prevent the release of records related to his rape investigation.
Sarasota police started investigating Christian Ziegler in October after the couple's threesome partner accused him of sexually assaulting her, and although authorities ultimately declined to charge him, the couple is suing to keep the Sarasota Police Department (SPD) and State Attorney’s Office (SAO) from releasing records they say could “cause great humiliation and harm to their individual reputations," reported The Daily Beast.
The lawsuit asked the court to prohibit the release of records and “order the permanent destruction” of any text messages collected during the investigation, saying the search warrant on Christian Ziegler's cellphone was too broad and allowed police to collect call logs, images and video, web browser history and emails, in addition to text messages.
Both police and prosecutors have received public records requests seeking everything collected in the search warrants, and the couple's lawsuit warns that could allow for the release of video showing Christian Ziegler and his accuser engaged in intercourse, which he insists was consensual.
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“The Zieglers seek to preclude the release and publication of any of the above-mentioned materials before SPD or the SAO release them pursuant to any active public records request,” the suit continues, adding that releasing the materials would be a violation of the couple’s rights to privacy guaranteed by the Florida constitution.
Christian Ziegler was pushed out of his job as Florida's Republican Party chairman and Bridget Ziegler lost her job with the conservative Leadership Institute, although she so far has resisted repeated calls for her resignation from the Sarasota County School Board.
