Scandal

The Denver Post reports: The Silt Police Department is investigating a Saturday night incident at a restaurant involving U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and her ex-husband Jayson Boebert. In a statement to The Denver Post from her campaign manager, Boebert said, “This is a sad situation for all that keeps escalating and another reason I’m moving. I didn’t punch Jayson in …

The Florida Trident reports: Sarasota police are investigating whether Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler unlawfully videotaped the sexual encounter at the heart of a rape allegation against him, a third search warrant affidavit obtained by the Florida Trident reveals. Based on the newly released Dec. 8 police affidavit, Circuit Judge Thomas Krug issued a search warrant for Ziegler’s Instagram account …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Southern Baptist Convention and others have reached a confidential settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that accused a former leader of sexual assault, ending a six-year legal drama that expanded victims’ rights in Texas, helped prompt a broader reckoning over child sexual abuse in evangelical churches and showed that a prominent conservative activist and Texas House …

Philly Burbs reports: Clarice Schillinger, 36, is facing criminal charges of assault, harassment and furnishing minors with alcohol during her daughter’s birthday party, according to the case filed in late October. Her attorney has denied all charges and said she will fight them in court. Schillinger made an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor as a Republican last year and has …

The BBC reports: The winner of a Xiangqi, or Chinese chess, tournament has been stripped of his title after allegations of inappropriate behaviour. Yan Chenglong has also been accused of cheating by using a communication device analogous to anal beads. The 48-year-old has been stripped of his title and banned from playing for a year. However, the Chinese Xiangqi Association …

Religion News Service reports: Leaders of the International House of Prayer, an influential charismatic evangelical prayer and mission group based in Kansas City, announced Friday (Dec. 22) that they have cut ties with founder Mike Bickle. In late October a group of former IHOPKC leaders accused Bickle of a pattern of alleged clergy sexual misconduct. Earlier in December, Bickle admitted …

The Washington Post reports: Officials overseeing the Conservative Political Action Conference knew about past accusations of sexual misconduct by chairman Matt Schlapp but failed to investigate or remove him from his powerful post, an amended sexual battery and defamation lawsuit claims. In one alleged incident, during a fundraising trip to South Florida in early 2022, Schlapp was accused of stripping …

Florida Politics reports: Members of the Republican Party of Florida want Christian Ziegler gone as Chair. But questions remain as to how fast he can be removed if he won’t resign. The executive board for the state party plans to meet Sunday in Orlando, where they intend to discuss sanctions for Ziegler. That happens weeks into a sex scandal that …

Religion News Service reports: The pastor of Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church — an influential Presbyterian Church in America congregation — resigned after a past arrest for improper conduct along with another church leader was made public. Liam Goligher, who had been pastor of Tenth since 2011, resigned on Dec. 1, according to a statement from the church. His resignation was …

The Christian Post reports: More than a month after leaders of International House of Prayer Kansas City announced that at least one allegation of abuse including “sexual immorality” made against the ministry’s founder Mike Bickle has “some credibility,” the embattled minister confessed on Tuesday to sinful misconduct he committed over 20 years ago. “With a very heavy heart I want …

The Florida Observer reports: A resolution to request the resignation of Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler is featured on an agenda for the school board meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Widely anticipated to be among the most attended school board meetings in the district, the meeting follows an accusation of sexual assault against Ziegler’s husband, Christian Ziegler, who …

The Washington Post reports: The Air Force disciplined 15 members of the Air National Guard after an internal investigation found that a “lack of supervision” and a “culture of complacency” helped enable a 21-year-old airman to share hundreds of classified documents online in the sprawling leak of U.S. military secrets that rocked the national security establishment this spring. In a …

The editorial board of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes: He is chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, close to both Gov. Ron DeSantis and former president Donald Trump. She is a nationally known conservative culture warrior, a Sarasota County School Board member and a co-founder of the book-banning Moms for Liberty, which denounces all things LGBTQ. She is also …

The Daily Beast reports: Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler appears to have departed her role at the conservative Leadership Institute, which removed her name from its website in wake of a three-way sex scandal and criminal probe involving her husband. On Wednesday, political news website Florida’s Voice cited reports that Bridget Ziegler had stepped down. Ziegeler and the Leadership …

Florida Politics reports: If Republican Party of Florida Christian Ziegler doesn’t resign, executive members appear ready to expel him in 30 days. While bylaws for the state party don’t specifically allow for removal of a Chair, the party constitution contains provisions for establishing a tribunal to judge misconduct by a state officer. Republican Party of Florida Vice Chair Evan Power …

The Miami Herald reports: Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler found himself hanging on for his political life on Tuesday as calls mounted for him to resign from his post to face an active criminal investigation into a sexual assault allegation. The deluge of criticism from prominent Florida Republicans marked a change from recent days, when many of the party’s top …

“I said the other night when it came out, it’s, look, you’re innocent until proven guilty. There’s clearly things that are lodged against people that aren’t necessarily true. But I think when you have an investigation of crimes of this magnitude, I think that the mission has to come first. “It is not helpful to the mission to have this …

Florida Politics reports: The Republican Vice Chair said a conversation cannot wait until the next scheduled meeting in February. Republican Party of Florida Vice Chair Evan Power wants a special meeting to discuss state Chair Christian Ziegler’s future. In an email blast to the state party’s board members, Power said a special meeting needs to occur with Ziegler under criminal …

The Pennsylvania News-Item reports: The Northumberland County chapter of Moms for Liberty is on pause as it breaks from the national organization, according to chapter chair Clarissa Paige. Paige cited allegations of rape against Christian Ziegler, Florida’s GOP chairman and husband of Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler [photo], as a reason for forming the Northumberland County Academic Alliance. Paige, …

Florida Politics reports: Add House Speaker Paul Renner to a growing list of officials calling for Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Chair Christian Ziegler [photo] to step down in the wake of sexual assault allegations. Less than 24 hours after Senate President Kathleen Passidomo asserted that it is “impossible” for Ziegler to continue leading the state party, Renner issued a …