THE former chair of the Republican Party of Florida who lost his job while he was being investigated for rape has sued authorities after he was found innocent.

Embattled politician Christian Ziegler and his activist wife Bridget were the subjects of a media firestorm after a woman they allegedly arranged to have a threesome with accused Christian of sexual assault.

The woman claimed in late 2023 that she had tried to back out of the tryst after learning Bridget wouldn’t participate, as she was the main reason she had been interested.

But despite cancelling, she claimed that Christian showed up to her home unannounced and forced himself on her when she refused to have sex.

However, after downloading information from the former GOP boss’s phone, investigators said videos appeared to prove the encounter was likely consensual.

Now, Bridget and Christian are suing the city of Sarasota and two detectives, Angela Cox and Maria Llovio, over “deliberate and egregious violation of the constitutional rights,” Florida Politics reported.

The suit claims detectives didn’t abide by the right to privacy when they downloaded 250,000 pictures, 30,000 videos, and 12,000 text messages off Christian’s phone.

The investigators unlawfully viewed “marital communications” which are subject to privacy rights, the lawsuit claims.

The detectives allegedly made routine procedural violations that ultimately led to them obtaining search warrants through illegal means.

The couple has suffered from “mental anguish, pain and suffering, and humiliation and embarrassment” as well as “enduring harm on their family, professional lives, and reputations,” the suit states.

DRAMATIC INVESTIGATION

Christian, who has been working in politics since 2005, served as chairman in Florida for 11 months before being fired in January 2024 at the request of Governor Ron DeSantis.

Bridget, who founded the conservative education advocacy group Moms for Liberty, stepped away from her non-profit and is still battling calls to remove her from a local school board.

The drama unfolded after a friend of the victim called 911 and asked for a wellness check after the woman had said she was raped, police said.

Investigators reviewed text messages on the victim’s phone and learned that Christian and Bridget had planned a threesome with her.

Christian later admitted to taking part in the sexual encounter and said that he took a video of the affair, which he kept private and didn’t share with anyone.

The lawsuit claimed that after making this admission, detectives overreached and sought a warrant for the politician’s “entire” cellphone, including material that didn’t pertain to the investigation.

Christian’s phone was the largest phone ever downloaded by Sarasota police, Florida Politics reported.

After officials got the warrant and reviewed the video of the encounter, they all “immediately knew it exonerated Mr. Ziegler of the accusations against them,” the lawsuit claims.

LEGAL WINS

The couple has already scored a couple of legal wins that could add legitimacy to their latest claims.

Last summer, a Sarasota judge ruled that police were in the wrong when they downloaded Christian’s entire phone.

A circuit judge also ruled in their favor after they sued the police and the state attorney’s office to prevent the contents of his phone from becoming public record.

Investigators argued that it was standard practice to download the phone’s contents in their entirety, but the court never sided with them.

When approached for comment, the City of Sarasota and the Sarasota Police Department said that they have not yet been served with the lawsuit.

“A media outlet notified the City of Sarasota about the lawsuit on Monday; however, at this time, the City has not been formally served,” a statement given to The U.S. Sun reads.

“Once served, the City will coordinate with litigation counsel to institute a timely and appropriate response. Due to the litigation, we’re unable to discuss the matter.”