Former Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler has been cleared of sexual battery allegations by Florida police, but he still could face charges over an alleged sex tape.
The Sarasota Police Department announced on Friday it would be referring a probable cause affidavit for video voyeurism to the state attorney’s office as part of the investigation into Ziegler, which began in October 2023.
“After conducting an additional follow-up interview with the victim and after showing the victim the video recording of the sex act, the victim advised Sarasota Police detectives that she was unaware and did not consent to being video recorded,” the police department said in a news release.
Law enforcement said it conducted “nearly one dozen” interviews, reviewed surveillance footage and cellphone data, along with issuing subpoenas as part of the investigation. The police department said Ziegler “cooperated with Sarasota Police throughout the investigation” and that it believes the sexual act filmed in the video was “likely consensual” but that the video being recorded was not consensual.
Ziegler’s lawyer Derek Byrd said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that he has been confident since day one that Zielger “would be exonerated from these baseless allegations.”
He also bashed judgment made before the conclusion of the investigation, saying it was “unfair and unfortunate and has caused irreparable harm to Mr. Ziegler’s reputation, his personal life, professional life, and his family”
“He has been completely honest, forthright, and has been fully cooperative with law enforcement at every stage of this investigation,” Byrd said in a statement. “While we are disappointed that the Sarasota Police Department ‘punted’ the decision on the remaining portion of the case to the State Attorney’s office, we strongly believe that the State Attorney will not prosecute Mr. Ziegler for any crime.”
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The allegations and police investigation into Ziegler cost him his job as chairman of the Florida Republican Party, after most prominent Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL), and leaders in both state legislative chambers, called on him to resign.
Ziegler was ousted at a party meeting earlier this month, and Evan Power was elected as his successor.
