Christian and Bridget Ziegler & The Swinging World of Florida Politics

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[MUSIC]

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The high power world of Florida politics.

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For the chairman of the Republican Party, Christian Ziegler, and his wife Bridget,

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life could not get much better.

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[MUSIC]

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That is until October 4th of 2023.

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[MUSIC]

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An unnamed victim reported Christian Ziegler, her friend of 20 years, had raped her.

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[MUSIC]

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The subsequent investigation revealed shocking revelations of a sex field underworld,

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in which Christian and his beautiful, statue-esque, blonde wife Bridget,

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herself, the founder of the nonprofit Moms for Liberty, in a school board member in Sarasota County,

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participated.

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[MUSIC]

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Welcome to Exposed, the scandalous files of the elite, Christian and Bridget Ziegler,

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in the swinging world of Florida politics.

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[MUSIC]

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Now, before we get into this series, I do want to mention again, this case has not been

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adjudicated.

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That's the legalese that we have to put in the beginning of many of these episodes.

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Some have been adjudicated and we just cover the facts.

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We're going to cover the accusations in this case.

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I like to jump right into these.

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However, I do want to mention the Vince McMahon series.

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I just want to thank everyone that listened to that series.

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That was the first series in the Exposed,

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scandalous files of the elite podcast, and it is just on fire.

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Y'all responded, you shared it and did all the things that helped to build podcast.

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I want to thank each and every one of you for your comments and your shares.

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Let's get into it.

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We're going to start this series off.

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The first person I'm going to tell you all about is Christian Ziegler.

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At the time that these accusations came out was the chairman of the Florida Republican Party.

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Let me tell you all about the Florida Republican Party real quick.

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It controls really the majority of Florida's US house seats.

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Both the US Senate seats, the governorship, and they have supermajorities in both houses

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of the state legislature.

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So they're very powerful, extremely powerful in the state of Florida.

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And Christian Ziegler, he was the chairman.

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And I say was the chairman because he has been removed, but he started his chairmanship

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in the Florida Republican Party on February 12, of 2023.

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And he held that seat until January 8, of 2024, just a couple of weeks ago, when he was

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removed from office by the party.

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And we're going to tell you why today.

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If you thought the Vince McMahon story was crazy, this is up there with it.

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Christian Ziegler, he was born in North Georgia just outside of Atlanta in May of 1983.

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So he's a younger guy.

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He graduated from Florida State University in 2005.

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Initially, he worked for a guy by the name of Vernon Buchanan for the US House of Representatives

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in his campaign.

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That was in 2006.

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And Buchanan actually won his seat.

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Ziegler was a legislative aide for Buchanan.

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And then in 2012, Ziegler ran for a position on the Republican Party of Florida State Committee.

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And he represented Sarasota County in 2017.

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He ran for chairman of the State Party, but he did lose that election to the incumbent.

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And in November 2018, he was actually elected to the County Commission of Sarasota County.

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So he's heavy into politics, right?

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He is 41 years old.

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Young guy, he's just killing it out there in politics and his life is getting better and

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better.

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And in early 2019, he was actually endorsed by Corey Lewandowski, Ziegler won that vice chairmanship

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and occupied that office from 2019 to 2023.

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So that's just a little bit about Christian Ziegler.

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He's powerful in Florida.

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And that's important in this story.

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And now we're going to talk a little bit about his wife and his personal life and his wife,

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who plays a big part in this story is Bridget Ziegler.

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Bridget Ziegler, no stranger to politics herself.

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She co-founded what's known as mom's for liberty.

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It's an organization in Florida that promotes constitutionalism and things of that nature.

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And she co-founded that, a big deal in Florida.

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And she also served on the Sarasota County school board.

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Bridget Ziegler, the first thing that stands out about her, she's absolutely beautiful,

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gorgeous, really.

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Head Turner.

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And that is going to play a part in this story.

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So the Zieglers move about life.

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They get married.

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It's a great life.

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They have a lot of power.

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They're going to all these political events.

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Rubbin Elbows, and really sitting down with and having discussions with Ron DeSantis, who

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was the Florida governor, and was a candidate for president until just recently.

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And just life couldn't be better.

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After they got married, they had three children.

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They were known as just a power couple in the state of Florida.

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[MUSIC]

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Everything was great until October 4th of 2023.

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When the police get a 911 call from a friend of a yet unnamed accuser.

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[MUSIC]

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And so before we get into the allegations and the investigation, I'm going to play that

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911 call for you.

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This is a friend of the accuser calling the Sarah Set of Police Department regarding conducting

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a welfare check on a friend of hers, who she was very concerned about.

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You can hear the concern in her voice.

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And here's that 911 call.

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[MUSIC]

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911, what's location of the emergency?

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I was hoping to do a wellness on a friend of mine.

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She hasn't shown up for work the past two days and I just got off the phone with her and

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she sounds drunk and I know that she has pain medication on her and she told me that she

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doesn't think she can do it anymore.

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Okay, what is it?

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And, hold on, she just texted it to me.

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[BLANK_AUDIO]

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What city is this?

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What was that?

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What city is this?

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I'm Sarah Soda.

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What unit?

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And what's the name of the complex?

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Oh crap, it's um.

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But you don't know, that's okay, ma'am.

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Okay, I think.

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Okay, what is the phone that we are trying to find?

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My phone number is...

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Okay, tell me exactly what happened.

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So, this friend of mine, she has struggled with addiction for a while and it's just gotten

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worse and worse.

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A couple months it, but you can tell me if you want to talk to anyone else, you want to answer

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anyone else at work except for me.

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But she told me she was raped yesterday and that she's scared to leave her house.

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And I told her that I was going to come pick her up and we could take her to the ER, but I just...

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I'm scared that her issues were just...

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And now today she's saying she can't do anymore?

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Yes.

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Do you know if she...

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Do you know if she's...

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I don't, I asked her if she was drinking and she said she wasn't, but she's swearing her words

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and she's really not making sense.

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Um, I know her kids, but they're not home right now.

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But she said she's scared that the person who raped her came to her house and she's scared to leave.

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So, I don't...

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I just...

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Okay.

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And I mean, I've wanted to go through with...

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I've looked into the process of having her Baker acted.

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I just don't...

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I don't know.

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Okay.

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I'm worried about her right now.

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Okay.

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Yeah, I have a unit somewhere out.

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How long ago was the threat?

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Um, I just got off the phone with her before I called you.

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So, within an hour...

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Um, maybe 30...

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30 minutes?

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Yes, 30 minutes ago.

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Do you know how she wants to hurt herself?

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How she...

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How she hurt herself?

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Do you know how she wants to?

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Um, no, she's just saying life's too hard.

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But I know she has prescription pain killers, so that kind of worries me.

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Okay.

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Were any weapons involved?

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No.

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What is...

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She went back to her Hispanic.

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She's white.

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A little blonde lady.

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Can you spell her wasm to fix her?

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Yes.

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Is that she's white?

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How old is she?

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Um...

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About a tallie.

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Uh, she's like, I don't know, 5-3 maybe.

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She's in, me and my heavy-zulbs.

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She's...

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Okay.

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So, would you help on them?

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Her cellphone?

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Yes.

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One second, let me.

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Um, her number is...

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And she's not her address now, right?

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Yes.

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She's got her apartment.

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She thinks that I'm plumbing to pick her up.

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But...

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She needs more help than I can do.

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I can help her with.

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Yes.

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Okay.

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Have you been in some route?

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Does she own a vehicle?

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Yes.

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I don't know the exact model.

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And are you going to be meeting us there or do you want to call back with her's old?

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I mean, should I?

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Oh, would you...

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It's up to you, ma'am.

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That's your call, right?

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We can't tell you if you can or not.

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It's up to you.

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If you're going to meet with them, I'll let them know.

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But you don't have to.

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It's up to you.

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No, I think...

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I think this needs to be handled by someone that she doesn't know or the story.

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Do you want to call back with her's old?

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From the unit?

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Yes.

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Okay.

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What's your address just so...

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Or is it the unit?

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No.

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What is your name, ma'am?

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Can your PPC address that we're going to?

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And just to clarify, she's not talking to you right now, correct?

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No.

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I just hung up with her before I called you.

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And then she texted me her address.

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Okay.

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Just call back to be it more information I have units in route to this address.

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Okay.

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Just call 911 again.

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I can give you an on emergency number.

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Okay.

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Let me...

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Okay.

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And what's your name?

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Hailey.

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Hailey?

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Okay.

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So then will the police are on their way there now?

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Yes ma'am.

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Okay.

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And then...

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Right, so I'm getting the pen.

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Okay.

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All right.

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And then...

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Not an emergency number?

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Yes.

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If you have more information.

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Yeah.

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Tell me when you're ready.

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I'm ready.

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941.

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Mm-hmm.

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316.

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1201.

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And it's option 0.

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1201.

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Option 0.

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Okay.

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And then so...

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Yes.

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I did put the you want to call back with the result.

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Okay.

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So they should be calling you soon.

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You think she'll be very good after?

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I don't know.

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Sure.

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I don't know how they do it because I'm not an officer.

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Okay.

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But they can...

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You can ask them that when they do call for you.

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Okay.

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Is there any...

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00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:02,560
All right.

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00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:03,560
Can I help you with them?

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00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:04,560
No.

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00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:05,560
Thank you so much.

269
00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:06,560
You're welcome.

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00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:07,560
Have a good day.

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00:14:07,560 --> 00:14:08,560
You too.

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00:14:08,560 --> 00:14:09,560
Bye.

273
00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:16,560
So the police go to check on that victim and conduct that welfare check on October 4th of

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00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:17,560
2023.

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00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:18,560
And the...

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We're going to refer to her as the victim.

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00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:30,160
And the victim reported that she had been sexually assaulted by Christian Ziegler on

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00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,560
October 2nd of 2023.

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00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:39,560
So just a few days prior to that welfare check and that report.

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00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:47,240
So the victim gets treated and she's examined at Sarah Sodom Memorial Hospital where a sexual

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00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,720
assault kit was completed.

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So the police start investigating.

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00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:59,160
And on October 5th of 23, they start that investigation and it reveals the following.

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The victim and Christian Ziegler, they... they realize after talking to the victim, they've

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00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:08,360
known each other for actually 20 years.

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00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:15,040
On October 2nd, according to the victim, herself and Christian Ziegler agreed to have a

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00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:16,040
sexual encounter.

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00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:22,600
However, that sexual encounter included Christian's wife, Bridget Ziegler.

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00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:28,560
When the victim will arm that Bridget could not make it, she changed her mind and she

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00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:31,640
canceled that encounter with Christian.

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00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:38,160
The victim then opened her door, her apartment door to walk her dog and Christian.

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00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:42,200
He's standing there outside in the hallway.

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00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:49,640
So he enters the apartment, bends the victim over the bar stool and vaginally penetrates

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her with his penis.

295
00:15:51,640 --> 00:16:01,440
It's important to give some context to this.

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00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:08,960
The victim said that she and Christian and Bridget were sexually involved one time, over

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00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:13,200
a year prior to this incident at their house.

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00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:18,520
The victim stated that when Christian came over, she was not in a place to consent because

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00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,600
it was her day off and she had been drinking.

300
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:25,440
Look, let's talk about that for a second.

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00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:31,560
When you are drunk above the legal limit in the state of Florida, as it is where I record

302
00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:41,600
in the state of Louisiana, you cannot consent to sex when you are above the legal limit automatically.

303
00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:42,600
That's in the law.

304
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:49,920
So if you're drunk, you can't say yes, I want to have sex technically without it being rape

305
00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:51,920
according to the law.

306
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:53,800
So that's an important part of this story.

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00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:56,680
She said she had been drinking tequila all day.

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00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:58,760
This is what she told the police.

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00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:04,160
She called her twin sister and told her twin sister that she was raped immediately.

310
00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,000
Her sister goes to the victim's house, of course.

311
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,560
You got a twin sister and you call about something like that.

312
00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:14,520
They're going to drop everything and go to your house.

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00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:18,920
So detective Zing, go talk to the sister to verify that.

314
00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:24,920
They interview her and she confirms that the victim did call her and told her she was raped

315
00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,880
but she never said who did it.

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00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:33,240
She said my sister was very emotional and distraught and I asked and she just wouldn't tell

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00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:34,240
me who did it.

318
00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:43,920
So the police have all this information and on October 24th of 2023, they get and view

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00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:48,200
the video surveillance footage from the victim's apartment complex.

320
00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:55,560
I say it a lot of times on some of my other podcasts, you are on video like 50 times a day no

321
00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:57,320
matter where you are in the world.

322
00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:04,760
You're passing surveillance equipment and of course many apartments nowadays have surveillance

323
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:05,760
equipment.

324
00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:12,480
So the detectives, you know, subpoenaed that video surveillance footage, they get it and

325
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:18,480
footage captures Christian Ziegler arriving in a gray Ford truck.

326
00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:22,800
His license plates visible so they know it's, they know it's him.

327
00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:28,000
Christian immediately enters that apartment complex and he is seen coming off an elevator

328
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:35,840
and driving away about 37 minutes after he entered that apartment.

329
00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,520
They even note his clothing.

330
00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:40,880
He was wearing dark shorts and a red shirt.

331
00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:47,360
And as part of that investigation, detectives perform what's known as a digital extraction

332
00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:49,120
of the victim's cell phone.

333
00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:51,280
They're at the point of the investigation.

334
00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,360
This victim is saying, you know, we've known each other 20 years.

335
00:18:54,360 --> 00:19:02,640
I had a threesome with him and his wife prior to this and I have, you know, things on

336
00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,320
my cell phone that will verify that.

337
00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:07,120
And so they do.

338
00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:12,880
They perform a digital extraction of that cell phone and they locate several text messages

339
00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:18,520
from Christian to the victim on October 2nd of 2023.

340
00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:24,240
In the messages, Christian tells the victim to go to Instagram when they asked a victim

341
00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:29,440
about this, she said that Christian like to use Instagram because he can seals the messages

342
00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,080
using what's known as vanish mode.

343
00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:38,160
And when you use vanish mode, basically if you text something as soon as the person reads

344
00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:45,160
it, it disappears and there's no permanent record of that supposedly.

345
00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:49,800
In another message, he asked the victim for her address and told her they were driving

346
00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,760
around and he was referring to himself and Bridget.

347
00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,680
And he continued sending the victim's messages.

348
00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,520
But at that, she didn't really respond timely.

349
00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:04,400
And when the victim finally responded, she asked who was coming.

350
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,840
And who's coming to this threesome, right?

351
00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:19,600
Christian responds probably just me this time.

352
00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:22,840
So detectives, they continue to investigate.

353
00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:27,360
Now on October 27th, guess what?

354
00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:33,040
He was learned that Christian is trying to contact the victim again through Instagram.

355
00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:35,360
This is well after the rape.

356
00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:40,600
He doesn't realize this investigation is even going on at this point.

357
00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:50,640
And he hits her up on Instagram and she was able to use an app to actually record the messages.

358
00:20:50,640 --> 00:21:06,360
I'm going to give you a summary of that communication.

359
00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:13,360
The victim says, I'm not okay with what happened the other day between us.

360
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:16,600
And Christian says, Oh, that's not good.

361
00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:17,600
You're my friend.

362
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:21,200
I've known you for like 20 years now, laugh out loud.

363
00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,240
And the victim says, Yeah, I know.

364
00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,200
But that was not cool.

365
00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:31,240
And you didn't bring her and then did that to me.

366
00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:38,760
And Christian responds, she was in, then couldn't she said next time, but I understand you're

367
00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:39,760
my friend.

368
00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:41,280
I actually like you as a person.

369
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:46,600
So sorry you got upset, but I can leave you alone if you prefer.

370
00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:51,920
And then he kind of tries to change the subject and starts discussing getting his hair cut.

371
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:57,840
And the victim says, I don't know if I can do that anymore after what you did to me last

372
00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:58,840
time.

373
00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:00,240
It freaked me out.

374
00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:04,120
And she's referring to having a threesome again.

375
00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:08,040
And Christian said, Okay, well, sorry, not the intention.

376
00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:11,240
I want you to be happy and not have drama.

377
00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,160
You have dealt with enough bullshit.

378
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:18,600
And then he again kind of tries to change the subject by talking about getting your hair

379
00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:19,600
cut.

380
00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:24,680
And the victim says, I have not been able to work since you came over.

381
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:29,800
And Christian responds, I'm pretty loyal to my friends tried to call hard to text.

382
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:31,640
How can I help?

383
00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:37,960
And the victim responds, I really can't even talk to you right now.

384
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:42,760
So during the messaging, Christian continuously asks how he could help.

385
00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,640
And the victim responds, you cause this?

386
00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:47,480
You can't help me.

387
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,200
And Christian repeatedly refers to the victim as his friends.

388
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,080
And that's, y'all, that's an effort to kind of minimize the situation.

389
00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:56,600
He's deflecting, right?

390
00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:58,040
And he would deflect.

391
00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:04,160
And every time she would bring up that rape, he would basically try to change the subject.

392
00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:08,760
You can talk about his, you know, him getting his hair cut and things of that nature.

393
00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:15,920
And the victim says, I'd prefer you to tell me why you think what you did was okay.

394
00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:17,720
And Christian says, where are you?

395
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:20,680
Do you want to meet and chat?

396
00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:22,520
I'm worried about you.

397
00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:23,520
You're my friend.

398
00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:30,680
And the victim says, hell no, not after what you did to me, do you not understand I am terrified

399
00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:32,400
of you?

400
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:37,280
And Christian responds that he had to go soon.

401
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:44,800
So Christian then begins to call the victim and the audio calls were recorded.

402
00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:53,080
Now it's important also mention this in the state of Florida as it is in the state of Louisiana.

403
00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:58,000
Both parties don't have to be privy to, to a audio recording.

404
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,840
So only one party has to be privy to that.

405
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,960
And that's the person doing the recording.

406
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:09,560
So in the first phone call, the victim told Christian he had heard her when he came over and

407
00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:13,560
Christian said he did not think that was the case.

408
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,320
And if she was upset, he didn't warn her upset.

409
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:19,760
And then he tries to change the subject.

410
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,280
And the victim, she asked him why he did that.

411
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,920
And Christian says he was not trying to start any issues.

412
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,800
And she knows who he is.

413
00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:33,760
Christian then asked the victim is she wanted him to leave her alone.

414
00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:40,600
The victim said she needed him to know that he heard her and Christian responded by saying,

415
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,240
look, I'll leave you alone.

416
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:46,920
So I think he was realizing and feeling a little heat.

417
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:52,360
He probably was thinking the more I talk to this girl, the more pissed off she gets.

418
00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:55,840
And I'm going to end up in a shitload of trouble if I'm not careful.

419
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,640
So the investigation continues.

420
00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:07,560
This is not your typical situation with people of this stature where you have a woman who

421
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:17,040
is just absolutely gorgeous and powerful and her husband, very powerful guy in the state

422
00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:18,520
of Florida.

423
00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:24,760
And you're, you know, he's involved in a rape and this person who he raped is basically

424
00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:31,720
saying Bridget Ziegler in this case, the wife was having was happy to have these free sums

425
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,400
and police are just blown away by this.

426
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,080
Oh, November 30th of 2023.

427
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:39,720
Guess what?

428
00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:47,240
Christian Ziegler's biggest nightmare, the scandal becomes public.

429
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:54,720
And the Florida Trident, which is a new source in the state of Florida that public

430
00:25:54,720 --> 00:26:03,440
publishes stories for the Florida Center for Government Accountability reports this

431
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:08,000
whole deck of cards starts to collapse for this power couple.

432
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:17,480
So on December 8th of 2023, police obtained a video, yep, we're getting into video of

433
00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:26,320
Christian Ziegler showing that he took video of the sexual encounter with the woman that

434
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:28,120
was accusing him of rape.

435
00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:36,520
Now in that video, it did confirm some parts of the sexual encounter that took place between

436
00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:45,480
the victim and Christian Ziegler, such as the video did show Ziegler having sex with her

437
00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,600
over a bar stool in that apartment.

438
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:54,520
That couple with the documents that police already had showed that Ziegler and his wife had

439
00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:58,600
arranged a threesome the day of the encounter.

440
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:04,000
But the text messages show Christian Ziegler informed the woman by text that Bridget couldn't

441
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:13,680
make it as I told you earlier and the woman did tell him that she was no longer interested.

442
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:21,120
As a matter of fact, it was discovered that throughout those text messages, at one point,

443
00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:27,280
she says, sorry, I was mostly in for her.

444
00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:31,900
I was that for a smack to your pride if your Christian Ziegler basically a woman said if

445
00:27:31,900 --> 00:27:35,960
she's not participating, I mean, that's kind of why I wanted to do it.

446
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:40,240
And of course, as I told you earlier, he shows up anyway.

447
00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:44,840
And incidentally, that was about five minutes after those texts were taken place.

448
00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:48,580
So he was texting her either when he was driving down the road or when he pulled up in the

449
00:27:48,580 --> 00:27:51,200
parking lot of that apartment complex.

450
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:58,520
So let's talk about those interviews just for a second of both Bridget and Christian

451
00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:00,000
Ziegler.

452
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:06,800
So police investigate in one of the things that they had to do was get a search warrant

453
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:10,040
for Christian Ziegler's phone.

454
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:16,640
And when they search that phone, they find not only the victim's name, but the names of several

455
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:17,640
other women.

456
00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:25,240
They actually find a folder and that folder was titled the list, quote unquote, the list

457
00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:26,920
in that cell phone.

458
00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:33,920
Now the victim's name was listed under a subheading and it was labeled something, but in the documents,

459
00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,360
it just says, exploitive.

460
00:28:37,360 --> 00:28:39,480
And all leave it up to your imagination.

461
00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:46,120
The exploitive used as the subheading is used to describe sexual intercourse.

462
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,080
That's what it says in the documents.

463
00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:54,760
So after his initial interview with police, which took place on November 1st, they went

464
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,480
back and they got a search warrant and they got his phone.

465
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:03,920
And of course, they check that search history and search history will bust your ass every

466
00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:04,920
time.

467
00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:10,840
So we're going to go through some of the search history that was on Ziegler's phone Christian

468
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:12,880
Ziegler.

469
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:18,560
And interestingly enough, this was right after the police left his house in that initial

470
00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:28,440
interview on November 1st, how pre-arrest criminal investigations work, sexual battery settlement

471
00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:30,240
average.

472
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:37,360
What is the average settlement for a premises liability sexual assault case?

473
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:40,480
Sapena Instagram vanish.

474
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:45,040
So he just like I told you about Instagram vanish earlier, he was freaking out and seeing

475
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:52,200
if they could subpoena that how quick police criminal investigation.

476
00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:56,240
He searched accused of sexual battery into a smist.

477
00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:57,960
He searched only fans.

478
00:29:57,960 --> 00:29:59,840
Interesting.

479
00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:05,080
He searched remove subscriptions from list.

480
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:12,040
So he must have searched only fans to pull up the site and then he wanted to remove his subscriptions

481
00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:18,120
and then figure out how to remove it from his phone, I guess.

482
00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,720
Sue for false allegations he searched.

483
00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,680
He searched cost to file a civil lawsuit.

484
00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:31,800
He searched how sex crimes are investigated and prosecuted in the state of Florida.

485
00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:36,200
He searched chief of serr-soda detectives.

486
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:40,640
He searched what happens when somebody presses charges against you.

487
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,000
He searched sexual battery.

488
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,880
He searched consent sexual how.

489
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:52,720
Then he searched can vanish my messages be recovered on Instagram.

490
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:56,840
He searched false sexual assault allegation.

491
00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:01,080
He searched serr-soda sex crime attorney.

492
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:10,040
He searched sexual battery proof and he searched bear day bags for tablets, phones and laptops.

493
00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:12,680
Go dark bags.

494
00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:19,440
And if you're wondering what bear day bags are, they are bags that actually block.

495
00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:25,400
They will block people from being able to get close to your cell phone and actually pull

496
00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:27,680
information off of it.

497
00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:32,800
With technology these days, there is technology where someone can be close to your cell phone

498
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:38,120
and actually pull information off of it using electromagnetic pulse.

499
00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:39,680
So this blocks that.

500
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:45,920
So one thing that police found out when they interviewed Christian Ziegler and Bridges Ziegler

501
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:51,880
was that this relationship wasn't like a one time thing.

502
00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:58,000
As I mentioned earlier, they had known the victim in this case for some 20 years and they

503
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:02,800
could kind of piece together things just from the interview that they had with both as well

504
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:06,080
as some of the messages that were in that cell phone.

505
00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:11,800
And three years prior to all of this going down as a matter of fact, it was February

506
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:19,560
2nd of 2021, they discovered some messages where Bridges Ziegler and Christian Ziegler

507
00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:23,240
were discussing the victim.

508
00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:29,400
And the victim had mentioned she had had a three way sexual encounter with the Zieglers

509
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:30,400
in the past.

510
00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:36,360
Now in those messages from three years ago, Christian Ziegler tells his wife to come home, stop

511
00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:38,280
and pick up blank.

512
00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,760
They were acted it to play again and be crazy.

513
00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:47,960
The message appeared to be referring to the victim who Christian Ziegler described as

514
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:53,840
an alcoholic, nice person and has some issues in that text.

515
00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:59,040
Bridges Ziegler responded that she prefers confident and power people in Christian Ziegler

516
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:06,160
reply that he liked that blank was close and that there was no drama which turned him

517
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:07,160
on.

518
00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:11,080
I just don't want to feel like we ever took advantage of anyone.

519
00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:16,760
I know it's always been consensual, but she seems broken or like she's going through

520
00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:18,560
some shit.

521
00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:20,840
Bridges Ziegler responds.

522
00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:26,080
And police did note that in that same message thread, Christian Ziegler said they needed

523
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:28,680
to hunt for someone new.

524
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:33,760
Now when police talked to Bridges Ziegler, she confirmed to pass three some with that

525
00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:39,200
victim, but told police she never planned to participate in the sexual encounter between

526
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:47,160
her husband and the woman on October 7th of 2023 that led to the rape allegation.

527
00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:52,680
Despite testimony from the victim and text messages indicating Ziegler's husband said his

528
00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:54,000
wife would be involved.

529
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:58,800
So basically Bridges saying I didn't know anything about the October 2nd incident.

530
00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:03,080
And that's certainly possible.

531
00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:08,000
Christian Ziegler could have just been essentially bullshit in that lady and to think in this

532
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:12,680
three some was planned because I'm sure he knew that she was more interested in his wife

533
00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:21,560
than him and was just looking to get some side piece from her and figured he'd just act

534
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:23,880
like, oh, Bridget couldn't come with me.

535
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:25,920
She had something last minute.

536
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:27,880
That's what I would suspect.

537
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:34,640
And if you'll remember, she even told Christian, meaning the victim that she was in it more

538
00:34:34,640 --> 00:34:37,440
for Bridget than him.

539
00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:43,400
So he probably lied the whole time about Bridges Ziegler being involved.

540
00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:47,120
Now Christians interview with police.

541
00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:52,800
He gave his perspective and he gave a little more background on the relationship that he

542
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:59,720
had with the victim who as we said, he had known for 20 years and he actually met her at

543
00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:06,120
a what's known as a joy land music venue, which is in Brandon, Florida.

544
00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:11,920
And Christian told police he had consensual sex with the woman approximately a dozen

545
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:17,920
times since they first met and that she had been ever to his house twice for three sums

546
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:19,600
with Bridget.

547
00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:24,520
His story is on October 2nd, he knocked on the victim's door and she answered and she

548
00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:28,400
told him she had just ordered pizza and was about to pick it up.

549
00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:33,400
He offered to come back another time, but the victim said, no, you can come in and they

550
00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:37,920
engage in small talk in the kitchen entryway.

551
00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:42,600
The victim then begins to kiss Christian Ziegler.

552
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:49,000
They then had consensual sex according to Christian Ziegler who also told police he made sure

553
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:54,360
the victim wasn't drunk and specifically asked if she had been drinking or taking pills

554
00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:57,560
because he didn't want to get in trouble.

555
00:35:57,560 --> 00:36:02,560
I don't know if he sounds to me like he's.

556
00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:04,520
I would suspect he's full of shit on that.

557
00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:10,440
I don't know that obviously and that's his story and he's sticking to it, but I don't see

558
00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:15,640
him going to her house and they're about to hook up and he stops her and says, I don't

559
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:18,880
want to make sure you're not drunk or been taken anything because I don't want to get into

560
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:19,880
trouble.

561
00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:21,400
I just don't buy that, but that's his story.

562
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:41,200
So, there's all these interviews going on and police go back and they interview the victim

563
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:42,200
again.

564
00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:49,320
And in that interview, she mentions that Christian Ziegler had been sexually battering her for years

565
00:36:49,320 --> 00:37:04,520
and due to his power in the state of Florida, she felt like she could never say no to him.

566
00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:10,560
She even mentioned an incident in the past where she said that Christian Ziegler entered

567
00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:14,880
her house by climbing through an unlocked window.

568
00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:22,160
Now police did know that they were covered a message on Ziegler's phone to the victim

569
00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:30,120
that took place on December 16th, 2021 that read, "I can come through window" and basically

570
00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:44,240
they said it cooperated the statement that she gave.

571
00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:49,000
So if you remember, Christian Ziegler did say that when he went in the house, she said she

572
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:53,520
had just ordered pizza and was going to pick it up.

573
00:37:53,520 --> 00:38:02,280
And so police visited that pizza place and they remembered the victim coming in on October

574
00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:06,920
2nd and y'all keep in mind that this would have been after that sexual encounter.

575
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:13,200
So they did remember her coming to pick up the pizza and the manager of that pizza restaurant

576
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:18,760
said that she did seem intoxicated.

577
00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:21,560
So he cooperated the victim story.

578
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:28,400
Now the biggest problem with the victim story was the fact that there was a major issue

579
00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:36,160
there with the truth which never changes and something that police had stone-cold proof

580
00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:40,920
that she said happened that did not happen and that was police asked her, "Well why did

581
00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:46,760
you let him in the house?" and she said, "I opened the door to let my dog out and walk my

582
00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:50,000
dog and he's standing there essentially."

583
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:56,600
However, in the footage that police reviewed from that apartment complex, it showed him

584
00:38:56,600 --> 00:39:01,160
knocking on the door and her allowing him in the door.

585
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:07,720
There was no dog that was present in that video footage and it showed him knocking.

586
00:39:07,720 --> 00:39:10,280
So the truth never changes.

587
00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:11,880
Why lie about that?

588
00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:19,440
So the pressures on police are investigating all of this and Christian Ziegler and his wife

589
00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:28,680
are trying to manage all of these charges and there was a lot of pressure for Bridget

590
00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:35,120
Ziegler after these charges came out to resign from the Sarah-Satah school board.

591
00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:44,600
She refused and it's important to note she wasn't, there was nothing illegal that she was

592
00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:46,600
being charged with.

593
00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:49,240
Look, it's not illegal to have a threesome.

594
00:39:49,240 --> 00:39:56,800
It's not illegal to be married and invite a third party into that.

595
00:39:56,800 --> 00:40:01,040
Some people may say there's a moral issue but it's not a legal issue.

596
00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:06,720
She did have a lot of pressure surrounding her to resign.

597
00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:17,120
So the plot thickened y'all and on December 22nd of 2023, a second Ziegler sex video is

598
00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:19,720
discovered.

599
00:40:19,720 --> 00:40:27,040
And this sex video actually involved Bridget Ziegler and an unidentified woman.

600
00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:31,640
The video was extracted from Christian Ziegler's cell phone.

601
00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:39,880
They get a search warrant for that Google drive and on that they find a second sex video.

602
00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:45,560
But this one is Bridget Ziegler with an unidentified woman, not the victim that I've been referring

603
00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:47,040
to in this case.

604
00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:56,160
So while this second video did not do anything to verify these rape charges, the Christian

605
00:40:56,160 --> 00:41:03,960
Ziegler was facing what they did, what that video did verify was the fact that this couple

606
00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:10,000
did participate in what someone called an alternative lifestyle that Bridget Ziegler

607
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:17,520
having thresoms with women were something that did occur and there was proof of that now

608
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:19,040
with this video.

609
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:24,960
And at this time Christian Ziegler, he is still holding the title of the Florida chairman,

610
00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:30,360
though he still had that title technically, they did strip him of his authority in the Florida

611
00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:39,120
GOP and they removed his salary, which was $120,000 for serving on the executive committee.

612
00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:43,800
That was about a week prior to finding this video, the second video.

613
00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:52,160
The committee also voted unanimously to urge him to resign, even former governor Rick

614
00:41:52,160 --> 00:42:02,560
Scott, current governor Ron DeSantis and Congressman Matt Gaetz, all were trying to pressure him

615
00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:03,960
to resign.

616
00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:08,480
But at that point Ziegler said, no, I'm not resigning.

617
00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:17,560
So in the meantime, the Sarasota County School Board, they vote four to one to request Bridget

618
00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:20,880
Ziegler resign from the school board.

619
00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:26,200
And guess what, the one dissenting vote was Bridget Ziegler.

620
00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:34,200
Now the ironic thing about all of this y'all is Bridget Ziegler spoke out, you know, she

621
00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:44,640
was well known for speaking out against the LGBTQ community in Sarasota.

622
00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:49,280
Here she is on video having sex with women.

623
00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:55,360
And that was, you know, you got to admit there's a lot of irony there.

624
00:42:55,360 --> 00:43:02,600
And it was definitely something that her opposition would use against her.

625
00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:06,120
I mean, that's about as hypocritical as you can get, right?

626
00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:11,120
So we're going to get into 2024 and where this case is now.

627
00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:21,120
The primary key components of this investigation is most of this, the majority of this 99% of

628
00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:27,080
this is one person's word against another person's word.

629
00:43:27,080 --> 00:43:32,760
Even though Christian Ziegler had video of this sexual encounter with the victim, there

630
00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:39,080
was no part of that video where she was saying no.

631
00:43:39,080 --> 00:43:42,000
And he was forcing himself on her.

632
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:48,200
And there was no part of that video where you could really tell that she was drunk, which

633
00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:52,360
if you could tell she was drunk in the video, then you could say, well, she couldn't consent,

634
00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:53,360
right?

635
00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:55,680
So third degree rape at a minimum.

636
00:43:55,680 --> 00:43:58,680
But in this case, you couldn't really tell in the video.

637
00:43:58,680 --> 00:44:00,160
It was a short video.

638
00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:04,080
He's saying it happened, but it was consensual and she's saying it wasn't.

639
00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:07,720
And it became one person's word against another.

640
00:44:07,720 --> 00:44:17,060
So on January 19th of 2024, police decide that Christian Ziegler will not face a rape

641
00:44:17,060 --> 00:44:18,060
charge.

642
00:44:18,060 --> 00:44:20,320
And I'm just going to inform you a little bit through the article.

643
00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:25,400
It says police will not charge Christian Ziegler with rape, but he could still be prosecuted

644
00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:31,480
for video recording himself having sex with a woman who had previously had threesomes

645
00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:38,040
with the Republican leader and his wife, mom's for Liberty co-founder, Bridget Ziegler.

646
00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:43,360
The Sarah said a police department announced it had forwarded findings of a criminal investigation

647
00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:45,600
to prosecutors.

648
00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:51,360
Police have investigated Christian Ziegler since early October when a Sarah said a woman claimed

649
00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:54,160
she had been raped in her apartment.

650
00:44:54,160 --> 00:44:59,400
When police investigated Ziegler, he produced a two and a half minute video.

651
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:05,200
He had took of the encounter on his cell phone and police say that based on the footage,

652
00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:08,720
the sex was likely consensual.

653
00:45:08,720 --> 00:45:14,640
But when police showed the video to the woman leveling the accusation, she said Ziegler

654
00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:19,240
had filmed the act without her knowledge or consent.

655
00:45:19,240 --> 00:45:22,520
That's important, y'all, because you can't do that.

656
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:27,200
That's in Florida, they have a video voyeurism law.

657
00:45:27,200 --> 00:45:29,200
They will keep going.

658
00:45:29,200 --> 00:45:34,800
The accused are also maintained from the beginning of the investigation she had been drinking

659
00:45:34,800 --> 00:45:40,520
before Ziegler shut up in her apartment and forced her to have sex over a bar stool.

660
00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:44,680
Based on the woman's testimony that she was filmed without permission, police on Friday

661
00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:50,360
submitted a probable cause of a David for a charge of video voyeurism.

662
00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:56,080
That leaves it to prosecutors whether to pursue criminal charges.

663
00:45:56,080 --> 00:46:00,920
When it goes on to say throughout the investigation, the woman told police both Christian and

664
00:46:00,920 --> 00:46:05,760
Bridget Ziegler had planned a threesome with her the day of the incident.

665
00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:11,520
But when Christian told Bridget he could not attend, the woman canceled and told Christian

666
00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:12,520
not to come over.

667
00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:20,360
He showed up five minutes later and she told police Ziegler intercepted her at the door.

668
00:46:20,360 --> 00:46:26,760
This video later suggested she allowed him into her apartment, just like I told you all.

669
00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:33,080
During interviews, Bridget Ziegler admitted to investigators that the couple engaged in a threesome

670
00:46:33,080 --> 00:46:37,280
with the woman more than a year prior to the incident.

671
00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:42,840
The scandal has brought significant political repercussions for the one's powerful couple

672
00:46:42,840 --> 00:46:47,280
who have always permitted socially conservative politics.

673
00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:52,280
Bridget Ziegler stood by Governor Ron DeSantis as he signed the state's notorious "don't

674
00:46:52,280 --> 00:46:54,800
say gay law".

675
00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:59,320
Since details of the scandal emerged, the conservative leadership institute parted company

676
00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:04,600
with Bridget Ziegler who had been director of the school board's program for the National

677
00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:11,240
Group, but she resisted calls for a resignation from the school board.

678
00:47:11,240 --> 00:47:17,360
They were a Republican party of Florida suspended and later fired Christian Ziegler as state chairman

679
00:47:17,360 --> 00:47:20,480
less than a year into his tenure.

680
00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:24,880
Ziegler's criminal attorney, Derrick Burr, released a statement saying the investigation's

681
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:32,920
findings prove what the accused maintained the entire time that he was innocent of rape.

682
00:47:32,920 --> 00:47:44,720
The police make the decision that we just don't have the evidence to bring this to the district

683
00:47:44,720 --> 00:47:52,440
attorney with enough evidence to charge him with the rape where we think we have enough evidence

684
00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:54,160
for a conviction.

685
00:47:54,160 --> 00:48:02,800
However, they definitely have enough evidence for him violating the video "Voluorism Law".

686
00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:10,200
So just within a couple of days ago, Christian Ziegler came out and he basically said he wants

687
00:48:10,200 --> 00:48:18,180
to use what's known as "Marcie's" and it's spelled "MARSY" apostrophe S, "Marcie's

688
00:48:18,180 --> 00:48:19,180
Law".

689
00:48:19,180 --> 00:48:25,520
So Ziegler's attorney, which is a guy by the name of Matthew Sarlson sends an email to

690
00:48:25,520 --> 00:48:28,240
the City Attorney for Sarasota County.

691
00:48:28,240 --> 00:48:37,440
This was on January 30th and he says that Ziegler was falsely accused and therefore a victim

692
00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:42,360
whose information should be protected under what's known as "Marcie's" law.

693
00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:48,800
He says Mr. Ziegler himself had become a victim of a crime as his accuser has filed a false

694
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:52,400
report to law enforcement authorities.

695
00:48:52,400 --> 00:48:56,200
That in the state of Florida is a first degree misdemeanor.

696
00:48:56,200 --> 00:48:58,920
So let me tell you a little bit about "Marcie's" law.

697
00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:06,120
In 2018, Florida voters voted in an adopted "Marcie's" law which gives more rights to crime

698
00:49:06,120 --> 00:49:07,120
victims.

699
00:49:07,120 --> 00:49:12,200
Among those is the right for crime victims to prevent the disclosure of information that

700
00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:19,600
could be used to locate or harass the victim or the victim's family or that could disclose

701
00:49:19,600 --> 00:49:23,200
confidential details about the victim.

702
00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:30,600
So his point on this is my reputation is ruined because even though the police found that

703
00:49:30,600 --> 00:49:36,240
I did not rape this woman, Yonahud is out there.

704
00:49:36,240 --> 00:49:39,400
When the news gets out, there's even an accusation of that.

705
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:46,760
A lot of people have a rush to judgment and so he felt like this is a violation of "Marcie's"

706
00:49:46,760 --> 00:49:56,440
law and it would appear that it is a violation of "Marcie's" law in Florida.

707
00:49:56,440 --> 00:50:03,240
But y'all he's acting like he's totally innocent and he's not totally innocent.

708
00:50:03,240 --> 00:50:10,640
Even if that rape did not take place and it was consensual, which the police are not saying

709
00:50:10,640 --> 00:50:15,520
it didn't take place, they're saying they don't have evidence of it and it's their feeling

710
00:50:15,520 --> 00:50:18,440
that it was consensual based off of the video.

711
00:50:18,440 --> 00:50:23,400
But only two people know him and her.

712
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:30,320
Video voyeurism in Florida he is certainly, certainly, guilty of.

713
00:50:30,320 --> 00:50:41,600
And video voyeurism in Florida is a third degree felony.

714
00:50:41,600 --> 00:50:48,480
We avoid your ismage defined as someone who takes video without consent of someone who is

715
00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:55,160
dressing undressing or privately exposing the body at a place and time when the person

716
00:50:55,160 --> 00:51:01,240
has a reasonable expectation of privacy for the purposes of amusement, entertainment,

717
00:51:01,240 --> 00:51:08,080
sexual arousal, gratification or profit or for the purpose of degrading or abusing another

718
00:51:08,080 --> 00:51:09,400
person.

719
00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:12,520
That is the legal definition of video voyeurism.

720
00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:15,120
I would say this qualifies.

721
00:51:15,120 --> 00:51:25,960
So that is the most up-to-date information on the case with Christian Zealer.

722
00:51:25,960 --> 00:51:29,600
And I'm going to go ahead and wrap this episode up, but I'm just going to give you a final

723
00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:30,600
fault on that.

724
00:51:30,600 --> 00:51:35,480
And that is, hey, is the lifestyle illegal?

725
00:51:35,480 --> 00:51:37,280
No.

726
00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:49,480
People have a right to consent with other people in sexual encounters.

727
00:51:49,480 --> 00:51:57,520
So we, you know, everybody may not agree on whether morally it's right, but legally, nobody

728
00:51:57,520 --> 00:51:59,360
berk any laws there.

729
00:51:59,360 --> 00:52:08,760
I do see the struggle that the police had with proof of rape.

730
00:52:08,760 --> 00:52:11,360
You're trying to substantiate someone's claim.

731
00:52:11,360 --> 00:52:15,120
It appears there just was not enough evidence to do that.

732
00:52:15,120 --> 00:52:17,800
But here's what I think was the nail on the coffin.

733
00:52:17,800 --> 00:52:20,280
And I love y'all's thoughts on this.

734
00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:27,160
Here's what I think was the key to unraveling in the police, maybe airing more on the side

735
00:52:27,160 --> 00:52:30,560
of Christian Zealer's story than the victims.

736
00:52:30,560 --> 00:52:39,000
And that is when the proof came out that she lied about whether she let him in that house.

737
00:52:39,000 --> 00:52:40,360
That's a problem.

738
00:52:40,360 --> 00:52:44,200
She tells police I went out to walk my dog and he's just standing there and then they obtained

739
00:52:44,200 --> 00:52:49,040
a video that shows he knocked on the door and she let him in the house.

740
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:50,040
That's a problem.

741
00:52:50,040 --> 00:52:51,880
That was a flat out lie.

742
00:52:51,880 --> 00:52:52,880
She lied about that.

743
00:52:52,880 --> 00:53:01,200
And guess what, if you lied about that, there's a possibility you could be lying about other

744
00:53:01,200 --> 00:53:11,000
things that occur during that sexual encounter.

745
00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:15,040
Christian Zealer definitely guilty of video voyeurism.

746
00:53:15,040 --> 00:53:16,520
There's no way around that.

747
00:53:16,520 --> 00:53:20,600
We'll be back next Monday with a brand new scandal.

748
00:53:20,600 --> 00:53:22,480
I'm your host, Jim Chabin.

749
00:53:22,480 --> 00:53:23,480
Much love.

750
00:53:23,480 --> 00:53:26,080
And I'll talk to you soon.

751
00:53:26,080 --> 00:53:36,080
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752
00:53:36,080 --> 00:53:46,080
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753
00:53:46,080 --> 00:53:56,080
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