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Rape Charge Won’t Be Filed Against Ousted Florida GOP Chair But Voyeurism Allegation Remains

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Christian Ziegler, the recently-ousted chairman of the Republican Party of Florida who faced an allegation of rape from the woman he and his wife had a three-way sexual relationship with will not be charged with sexual battery but may face a charge of video voyeurism.

The Sarasota Police Dept. in a statement said the sexual encounter he had with the unnamed woman who alleged he had raped her was “likely consensual,” The Associated Press reports.

“However, police said, the woman said she never consented to be video recorded and was unaware it had occurred,” the AP adds. “Police said they asked the Sarasota County State Attorney’s Office on Friday to file video voyeurism charges against Ziegler, but that has not yet happened.”

Ziegler’s case has made national headlines for months. He and his wife Bridget Ziegler have been described as Florida’s “power couple.” Bridget Ziegler is a co-founder of the anti-LGBTQ organization Moms for Liberty, and, having engaged in what some have described as an LGBTQ sexual relationship, has faced allegations of hypocrisy. Bridget Ziegler, who was an architect of the Florida Republican governor Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” law is also reportedly best friends with Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis. She also has strong ties to the Florida governor and third-placed 2024 presidential candidate.

READ MORE: Police Have Sex Tape of Moms for Liberty Co-Founder With Woman: Report

In addition to being a member of the Sarasota County school board, Bridget Ziegler was appointed to the board Gov. DeSantis created when he dissolved the half-century old arrangement that allowed Disney World to effectively create and run its own government. Disney is sung DeSantis, alleging he violated the company’s First Amendment rights when he punished the company for speaking out against the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.

Moms for Liberty has been designated as an anti-government extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The woman who accused Christian Ziegler of rape had “told detectives that she and Ziegler have known each other for more than 20 years. She said that on Oct. 2, she agreed to have sex with Ziegler and his wife but backed out after being told that Ziegler’s wife ‘couldn’t make it,'” the AP notes.

The woman reportedly then told Christian Ziegler, “Sorry I was mostly in for her,” referring to his wife.

READ MORE: ‘They’re Coming After Our Children’: Watch Casey DeSantis’ Dystopian Fear-Mongering Ad

 

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Bus Driver’s ‘English-Only’ Sign Triggers DOJ Probe Into Firing

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The head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division says she has ordered an investigation into the firing of a local school bus driver who posted an “English-only” sign, alleging the situation implicates “DEI wokeness.”

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, in announcing the investigation, called the firing “deeply concerning.”

Pennsylvania’s CBS 21 News reported that “Diane Crawford, 66, said she never thought writing a note would cost her so much.”

READ MORE: ‘Overnight’: Trump Claims He Could Slash Unemployment by More Than Half

The note read: “Out of respect to English-only students, there will be no speaking Spanish on this bus.”

“I didn’t mean to be racially insensitive or anything like that,” Crawford said. “Maybe I should have worded it (differently). Maybe it should have said, ‘No bullying in any language,’ but I didn’t mean it to be anything but to correct him.”

CBS 21 reported that “Crawford claimed she never got to explain that the sign was put up to encourage safe and respectful behavior and that it was directed at a bilingual student who allegedly had a history of riling up other students in Spanish.”

She also alleged that she was fired overnight, but the local school district and bus contractor in a joint statement said they “jointly reviewed the situation in accordance with established procedures. The investigation concluded after the subcontractor provided a written admission confirming that the signage had been installed on her bus. At that point, the relevant facts of the situation were fully known and discussed among District and Rohrer leadership.”

Civil rights litigator Patrick Jaicomo in a social media post directed toward Assistant Attorney General Dhillon asked: “Can you lay out the possible legal basis for your concerns?”

“I’d also be interested to hear whether you think someone acting under color of state law can prohibit the speaking of Spanish,” he wrote. “That seems like it would violate the 1st [and] 14th Amendments, no?”

Jaicomo added, “If I wanted to enforce civil rights, I’d investigate a school bus driver’s violation of the 1st and 14th Amendments under color of state law. If I wanted to score cheap political points, I’d investigate ‘DEI wokeness.’ Then again, there’s a reason I don’t work for the gov’t.”

READ MORE: ‘Kingly Approach’: Trump Slammed for Eyeing Control of More Historic D.C. Sites

 

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‘Totally Unacceptable’: Trump’s Latest Greenland Escalation Sparks Outrage

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President Donald Trump has not abandoned his efforts to acquire Greenland — indeed, he is pressing ahead. On Sunday night, the president named Louisiana Republican Governor Jeff Landry, a Trump ally, as a special envoy to the autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, a decision that angered both Greenlanders and Danes.

“Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the World,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Landry quickly responded: “It’s an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the U.S. This in no way affects my position as Governor of Louisiana!”

READ MORE: ‘Kingly Approach’: Trump Slammed for Eyeing Control of More Historic D.C. Sites

Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, blasted the move.

“I’m deeply upset about the appointment and the statement, which I find completely unacceptable,” Løkke Rasmussen told Danish media TV2, as CNBC reported.

Trump, CNBC noted, “has refused to rule out the use of force” to acquire Greenland, whose “leaders have criticized the U.S. administration’s calls for the country to become a U.S. territory.”

The New York Times likened the appointment of a special envoy to the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East, at least in one respect — in each case, the president “tapped someone close to him to manage all of these as priorities.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul called the appointment of a special envoy “outrageous.”

“Imagine,” he wrote, “if Mexico appointed a special envoy to make Louisiana a part of Mexico? Our ally Denmark deserves more respect than this.”

READ MORE: ‘With a Grain of Salt’: Urging Caution on Inflation Report Economists Warn of Missing Data

Valerie Morkevičius, an associate professor of political science, charged that Governor Landry is proclaiming “his support for violating an ally’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

She noted: “US foreign policy these days operates at the corner of shame and shambolic.”

The Times reported that “the appointment drew condemnation from Greenland and further deteriorated the relationship between the United States and Denmark, which used to be close allies.”

“You cannot annex other countries,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark and Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen of Greenland said in a joint statement on Monday. “Not even by invoking international security. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders, and the United States must not take over Greenland.”

Mikkel Runge Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, called Landry’s appointment a “significant escalation.”

READ MORE: Warnock Fires Back at Trump With Bible Study Invite

 
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‘Kingly Approach’: Trump Slammed for Eyeing Control of More Historic D.C. Sites

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President Donald Trump is continuing his efforts to rebrand the government in his image. He has tried to restore the U.S. Department of Defense’s name to the Department of War. He removed the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center and installed his allies and administration officials, who then tried to rename the institution the Trump-Kennedy Center. He demolished the East Wing of the White House in an attempt to build a ballroom. He redesigned the Rose Garden — twice. He has allegedly eyed four other historic U.S. government buildings for demolition or disposal. And he wants to build a triumphal arch in Washington, D.C.

Now there is more.

President Trump has his eye on the three public golf courses in Washington, D.C., which have a 50-year lease as part of a trust designed to keep them affordable, according to The Hill.

READ MORE: ‘With a Grain of Salt’: Urging Caution on Inflation Report Economists Warn of Missing Data

The Trump administration reportedly has sent a notice of default to the National Links Trust, a local public-private nonprofit that oversees the properties. The notice reportedly did not explain why the trust is in default or what it needed to do to remedy the situation.

“Trump’s efforts are widely seen as a first step by the president to take over the courses for potential redevelopment and put his mark on the D.C. golf scene permanently — just as he did last week by renaming the Kennedy Center after himself,” The Hill reported.

The White House has not denied the president appears interested in the golf courses.

“President Trump is a champion-level golfer with an extraordinary eye for detail and design, and his vision to renovate and beautify DC’s public golf courses will bring much needed improvements that American citizens will be able to enjoy,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.

READ MORE: Trump Says He Didn’t Name TrumpRX — After Claiming He Didn’t Know About the Kennedy Center

Charles Allen, a member of the D.C. council described as an avid golfer, told The Hill that it concerns him “to have the Trump administration terminate the lease for, let’s be honest, made-up reasons. It seems to be about a grab of the land for the wealthy and well connected.”

Two prominent Democratic lawmakers are blasting this latest effort to remake or rebrand government properties and institutions.

“That ambition is reflective of a kingly approach to his job,” U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told The Hill. “He thinks government property belongs to him … it reflects the same mentality as bulldozing the East Wing. I haven’t heard anyone in the District, Maryland or Virginia say what the area needs is some Trump-run golf courses.”

U. S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) told The Hill that “Trump should focus less on vanity projects and personal vendettas and spend more time lowering costs for the American people.”

READ MORE: Warnock Fires Back at Trump With Bible Study Invite

 

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