Moms for Liberty loses members over rape allegation against co-founder’s husband
Moms for Liberty has lost a chapter because of their reaction to the rape allegations made against Christian Ziegler. (Credit: Getty Images)
Moms for Liberty (M4L) has lost a heap of members after it responded to a rape allegation made against the co-founder’s husband.
The SPLC-designated anti-LGBTQ+ extremist group is falling apart at the seams after M4L co-founder Bridget Ziegler’s husband Christian Ziegler was accused of rape.
Police in Sarasota opened up an investigation into Ziegler, the Florida Republican Party Chairman after a woman accused him of sexual assault.
A search warrant affidavit, seen by Politico, found that Bridget Ziegler had confirmed to police that she, her husband, and the victim, had engaged in consensual sex together over a year before the alleged sexual assault.
The affidavit also uncovered Instagram messages from the victim to Ziegler in which she stated she was “terrified” of him after the alleged rape.
Although Ziegler hasn’t been charged with a crime and denies the allegations, investigations are still underway.
The allegations haven’t been a good look for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is linked to both Zieglers through their involvement in Republican politics.
Shortly after the allegations were made public, DeSantis asked Chrisitan Ziegler to resign as GOP Chairman.
Similarly, members of Moms for Liberty are starting to drop out of the controversial organisation as a result of the allegations, citing a difference in values.
Moms for Liberty has built a national platform based on their opposition to more progressive education policies and classroom curriculums, making repeated attempts to rid schools of critical race theory and LGBTQ+-friendly learning under the guise of “family values.”
The group does this by infiltrating school boards, launching social media campaigns and generally spreading misinformation about how schools are supposedly “indoctrinating” children to be “woke” or “grooming” children to be LGBTQ+.
Now that these allegations have been brought to light, Zieglers and M4L are beginning to look hypocritical, to say the least.
In response to the allegation, a local Moms for Liberty chapter in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, has parted ways with the organisation.
Clarissa Paige, who chaired the local chapter and worked as the group’s state legislative lead, said that she was disturbed, not only by the allegations but by how quickly the national leaders jumped to defend the Zieglers, per NBC News.
When the sexual assault allegations were first made public, the Moms for Liberty social media account posted to X (formerly Twitter) that this was just “another attempt today to ruin the reputation of a strong woman fighting for America.” The tweet has since been deleted after it got heavy backlash from users.
Speaking to NBC News earlier this week, Paige stated that Moms for Liberty should never have gotten involved.
“It technically should have never been a Moms for Liberty issue, but by taking that stance Thursday night, it became their fight, and it shouldn’t have.”
Explaining her decision to leave the group, she added: “We can’t fight against grooming of students or kids and then that’s happening.”
Her chapter will now rebrand as a new group called the Northumberland County Education Alliance, which will continue to push for so-called “parental rights” in local schools.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried also commented on the allegations, saying in a statement seen by The New Republic: “As leaders in the Florida GOP and Moms for Liberty, the Zieglers have made a habit out of attacking anything they perceive as going against ‘family values’ – be it reproductive rights or the existence of LGBTQ+ Floridians.
“The level of hypocrisy in this situation is stunning.”
A statement has also been issued by Moms For Liberty co-founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich this week, which reads: “We have been truly shaken to read of the serious criminal allegations against Christian Ziegler.
“We believe any allegation of sexual assault should be taken seriously and fully investigated.”
The statement also notes that Ziegler left Moms for Liberty a month after its launch in January 2021 and that they respect the Northumberland County chapter’s decision to part ways with the group.
