As the candidates close in on the Granite State's primary next week, abortion is expected to become a key issue both nationally and in Florida. 

Ziegler rape investigation ends as video voyeurism charge sent to state attorney

Police in Sarasota say they have not found enough evidence to charge former Florida GOP chair Christian Ziegler with sexual battery in connection with a sexual encounter with a woman on Oct. 2, 2023.

Investigators said, however, they did find a cell phone recording of the incident and the woman involved told them she had not given Ziegler permission to film her.

Ziegler, who was ousted from his position as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida over the allegations, has maintained his innocence since the accusation was made public in late November.

The woman told detectives that she and Christian Ziegler have known each other for more than 20 years, and that she and Ziegler had previously had a three-way sexual encounter involving his wife, Bridget. The woman said that on Oct. 2, she agreed to have sex with Ziegler and his wife, but backed out after Christian Ziegler told her that his wife “couldn’t make it.”

"On October 4th, 2023, detectives from the Sarasota Police Department began an investigation into an alleged sexual battery that involved Ziegler as the suspect," the department said in a statement Friday. "During the investigation, the detectives conducted nearly one dozen interviews, issued numerous subpoenas, reviewed hours of surveillance footage, and searched through a substantial number of images and videos on cell phones and their respective cloud data backups."

Sarasota police say they verified that the Oct. 2 sexual encounter between Christian Ziegler and the woman did in fact take place, but that "video showed that the encounter was likely consensual."

"After conducting an additional follow-up interview with the victim, and after showing her the video recording of the sex act, the victim advised Sarasota police detectives that she was unaware, and did not consent to being video recorded," a Friday statement from the Sarasota Police Department said.

Based on that information, investigators said they prepared at "probable cause affidavit for the felony crime of Video Voyeurism against Christian Ziegler."

"This affidavit was subsequently sent to the State Attorney's Office for further review," the statement said.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Ziegler's attorney, Derek Byrd, said that "since day one, we have been confident Mr. Ziegler would be exonerated from these baseless allegations."

“He has been completely honest, forthright, and has been fully cooperative with law enforcement at every stage of this investigation,” Byrd said. “While we are disappointed that the Sarasota Police Department ‘punted’ the decision on the remaining portion of the case to the State Attorney’s office, we strongly believe that the State Attorney will not prosecute Mr. Ziegler for any crime.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Abortion expected to be key issue in election

Anti-abortion activists attended the first March for Life in the post-Roe era today.

Thousands of people from across the country gathered in a cold and snowy Washington D.C. For the annual march.

It’s the first March for Life event since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ruling that women do not have a constitutional right to abortion..

The Roe v. Wade decision was handed down 51 years ago today.

Political strategists project that abortion will be a major issue in the 2024 election.

Today, the campaign to reelect President Joe Biden announced it is kicking off a reproductive rights tour next week.

On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign on the issue in battle-ground Wisconsin. And on Tuesday, both the president and vice president will hold a rally in northern Virginia. That will be their first joint campaign event of the year.

The Biden campaign has long argued that abortion rights will be front and center in this campaign.

Here’s where the abortion issue stands in Florida.

The Florida Supreme Court will soon release their decision on the 15-week abortion ban passed by lawmakers in 2022.

If the court does uphold the law, then the six-week abortion law with exceptions for rape and incest that the governor signed last year would then go into effect.

The Florida Supreme Court will also hear arguments on whether a proposed abortion-rights state constitutional amendment will qualify for the ballot in November. The high court set the hearing for Feb. 7.

As for this legislative session, a Florida republican filed a bill this session that would essentially ban all abortions, but leadership has already said it’s not going anywhere.

However, there is a bill that is moving forward that some see as related to the abortion issue.

The proposal would add “unborn child” to a law that allows family members to seek damages when the child dies from a wrongful or negligent act.

Democrats offered an amendment would have exempted abortions from the wrongful death law, but that was rejected as the bill moved out of committee.

An update from New Hampshire

With four days to go before Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire, Republican candidates are campaigning in the granite state tonight.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott will appear at former President Donald Trump’s rally tonight to officially endorse the former president.

Trump continues to dominate in the polls. According to today’s Suffolk University survey, trump has 52% support. Nikki Haley lands at 35%.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is in a distant third place with 6%. But these numbers aren’t stopping the candidates from campaigning.

“It’s time for the Republican party, frankly, to come together and to unify," Trump said. "We have to unify and focus all our resources and energy and effort on defeating crooked Joe Biden."

“What we’ve seen is he does tend to throw a temper tantrum," Haley said of Trump. "You know, when there’s not a reason for me to respond back to it, I would love for him to debate."

“I’m not running for president to simply manage this country’s decline," DeSantis said. "I want to reverse the decline."

On the Democratic side, Biden will not be on New Hampshire’s primary ballot.

According to the Democratic National Committee, the state violated party rules by scheduling its primary earlier than allowed. 

Lawmakers debate bill that could make it legal to kill bears

The “Stand Your Ground Against Bears” bill is a proposal that would allow homeowners to kill a bear to protect themselves or their property.

Just last year, officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission reported they received almost 6,000 complaints about black bears in the state.

In fact, one sheriff in North Florida said black bears were at the beaches swimming in the ocean.

There’s no doubt bear encounters are on the rise, but critics are calling the proposal an overreaction.

For a very long time, "humans have been on the top of the food chain," State Rep. Dean Black said in support of the proposal. "It’s time that we restore our citizens to that top of the food chain."

The bill would allow you to use deadly force against a bear intruder if you feel threatened by the animal. 

Even critics acknowledge that bears sometimes get too close for comfort. But instead of deadly force, they say there are better alternatives.

They’re asking lawmakers to consider things like secure trash cans and better food disposal.

“Under this bill, we are essentially saying we don’t have the tools, the plan, or the time to manage the trash,” Kate Macfall of the Humane Society of the United States said.

If you’re worried about poachers capitalizing on this bill, you’re not alone. It does provide some protections: It says a person can’t lure a bear.

They must also report the shooting, and FWC is required to seize the body.