At first, there was little that was surprising about a report that Christian Ziegler, the husband of Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, is under police investigation in Sarasota, FL following a rape allegation. The modus operandi of Moms for Liberty and their allies is implying, often outright falsely accusing, everyone from drag queens to school librarians of being sexual predators. Lurid finger-pointing from conservatives is often, as most folks have figured out by now, a form of psychological projection. It hasn’t even been two weeks since the release of a similar story outing a Philadelphia organizer for Moms of Liberty for his 2012 conviction of sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy.
The speed with which the Zieglers are being tossed overboard is fascinating because it wasn’t that long ago that the couple were some of the biggest rising stars in the GOP, especially in Florida.
Just as predictable were the details dug up by local reporters for the Florida Trident that the alleged victim told police “that she and both Zieglers had been involved in a three-year consensual three-way sexual relationship.” The report alleges she had been alone with Christian Ziegler, who is also the chair of the Florida GOP, the night of the alleged rape. Time and again, we have seen this story play out: The self-appointed guardians of everyone else’s sexual morality often have rather exotic sex lives of their own. Just ask Jerry Falwell Jr.
I think branding still has a notable effect though. We know deplatforming and bans work online for instance, even though the Nazis hypothetically could build replacements. I think the dissolution of a group may have a more significant impact than we think.