The call for the resignation of Bridget Ziegler, co-founder of Moms for Liberty and a member of the Sarasota County school board, gained momentum following sexual assault allegations against her husband, Christian Ziegler, who chairs the Republican Party of Florida.
Amid hours of public commentary, the school board voted on a resolution urging Ziegler to step down. These appeals came in the wake of concerns regarding her husband's alleged involvement in a sexual assault accusation related to a consensual three-way relationship.
A news report about the allegations can be seen below.
Bridget Ziegler can remain on Sarasota County School Board despite recommendation for resignationwww.youtube.com
During the deliberations, Zander Moricz, a former school student and director of the Social Equity through Education Alliance (SEE), delivered a powerful speech that emphasized why Ziegler should be fired from the school board.
You can hear what he said in the video below.
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Moricz, who has made headlines for his student activism before, noted that he and Ziegler first interacted when she retweeted a hateful article about him while he was still a student, adding:
“You are a reminder that some people view politics as a service to others, while some view it as an opportunity for themselves."
“On this board, you have spent public funds that could have been used to increase teacher pay to change our district lines for political gain, remove books from schools, target trans and queer children, erase Black history and elevate your political career, all while sending your children to private schools.”
Moricz also highlighted the community's focus on Ziegler's private life, questioning why more attention wasn't given to her history of anti-LGBTQ+ advocacy with Moms for Liberty while serving on the board:
“Bridget Ziegler, you do not deserve to be on the Sarasota County School Board. But you do not deserve to be removed from it for having a threesome. That defeats the lesson we’ve been trying to teach you which is that a politician’s job is to serve their community, not to police personal lives."
“You deserve to be fired from your job because you are terrible at your job, not because you had sex with a woman.”
Ziegler's association with Moms for Liberty, a group opposed to LGBTQ+ materials in schools, ended in 2021. However, her subsequent election to the Sarasota County School Board has brought heightened scrutiny, especially in light of the recent revelations.
Community members, vocal in public meetings, criticized Ziegler for supporting anti-LGBTQ+ policies while entangled in a personal controversy. The pressure for her resignation intensified, culminating in a four-to-one school board vote in favor of her stepping down.
Simultaneously, Christian Ziegler, facing police investigation, encountered similar demands to resign as the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. Reports suggested he sought a buyout as an exit strategy, a claim he refuted.
The footage of Moricz's remarks was later shared to Twitter, where it also went viral.
Many praised him for speaking out, joining him in his call for Ziegler to step down.
Moricz, while still class president of Pine View School in Osprey, Florida, made headlines last year after he said the school principal threatened to cut his mic if he brought up his LGBTQ+ activism in his graduation speech.
According to Moricz, Stephen Covert, the school's principal, "said that he just ‘wanted families to have a good day’ and that if I was to discuss who I am and the fight to be who I am, that would ‘sour the celebration'."
The "dehumanizing" experience caught nationwide attention after Moricz talked about it on his Twitter account.
He recalled the administration tore posters from the wall of the school after he organized a "Say Gay Walkout" in protest of Florida's controversial "Don't Say Gay" law, which aims to limit conversations about sexual orientation or gender identity in schools and empowers parents to bring legal action against school districts that violate the law.
Sarasota County Schools confirmed that the meeting between Moricz and Covert took place, noting that graduation speeches are typically reviewed to ensure they are “appropriate to the tone of the ceremony.” The school district said "appropriate action" may be taken against students who use graduation as "a platform for personal political statements."
Moricz did tell reporters that he and Covert had previously had a cordial relationship, saying that Covert’s demand “did not reflect his previous actions” in their four years of working together. Moricz said he believes Covert's request was an effort to comply with the "Don't Say Gay" law.
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