Zieglers sue to stop release of records related to criminal investigation

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Former state GOP chairperson Christian Ziegler and his wife, Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler, have filed a lawsuit against two law enforcement agencies in Sarasota to stop the release of records related to a now-closed sexual battery and video voyeurism investigation.

The lawsuit, filed in Sarasota County Court on Monday against the Sarasota Police Department and the State Attorney’s Office for the 12th Judicial Circuit, seeks to prohibit the release of any more of the couple’s private communications that were obtained during the investigation. It also asks that all such communications be destroyed.

An attorney for the couple, Matthew Sarelson, argued in the lawsuit that the release of records stemmed from “an unsubstantiated police report” with the Sarasota Police Department.

Last October, a woman told Sarasota police officers that Christian Ziegler, then the chairperson of the Republican Party of Florida, had sexually assaulted her. Police opted against charging Ziegler with sexual battery after saying a video appeared to show consensual sex, but the department sent a video voyeurism charge to the state attorney. The state attorney this month declined to file charges after the woman said it “was possible” she could have consented to the video being taken.

During the investigation, records obtained by the police department were released to the media and the public, some of which detailed previous sexual activity the couple had with the woman who accused Ziegler of battery. Amid the police investigation, Christian Ziegler was ousted as Florida’s Republican chairperson in January.

In the court filing, the Zieglers seek to prevent the release of any of their text messages and other communications in the hands of law enforcement.

Sarelson wrote that only the communications between Ziegler and his accuser should be available to the public. He argued that private conversations between the married couple are privileged.

The lawsuit says that communications from Christian Ziegler’s cell phone, Google Drive and Instagram account do not qualify as public records and could cause “irreparable harm” to the couple if released.

“The cell phone and its contents are my personal property,” Christian Ziegler said in the legal filing. “The phone includes years of data, including communications with my wife and different attorneys I have retained over the years. The phone and its contents were not intended to be public.”

Bridget Ziegler, a conservative education activist who co-founded the conservative education group Moms for Liberty, gave a similar statement.

Sarasota’s state attorney declined to comment on the lawsuit and the Sarasota Police Department did not respond to an emailed request for comment on Tuesday by the time of publication. The Zieglers and Sarelson also did not respond to an emailed request for comment.