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| In South Carolina, nine former chapter chairs of Moms for Liberty cosigned a letter claiming the group has lost its way. One of their complaints has to do with how they were allegedly advised to stay silent when ally and former state legislator Robert (RJ) May was convicted of distributing child pornography. |
In my state of South Carolina, infamous far right (and SPLC designated hate group) Moms for Liberty is having a massive membership problem. One of the reasons seems to be that SC chapters were allegedly told to stay silent when an ally was sentenced to prison for distributing child pornography.
From The State:
Moms for Liberty, which started in 2021 in Florida amid the COVID pandemic, grew nationally and grew to 21 chapters around the Palmetto State. Chapters held events to talk about child safety when it came to technology and to hear from candidates for the state House. But frustration within the state, “internal disagreements,” a disillusionment with the national leadership, and alleged bullying by some chapters has taken place, those who left the organization say. Now only seven chapters in the state are listed on the group’s website and only three chapters with listed local leadership.
The State pointed out that in August, a group of nine former Moms for Liberty chapter leaders cosigned a letter claiming that the group "has lost its way." Part of the letter reads as follows:
“We are disappointed in the direction the national organization has taken in South Carolina,” the leadership team stated in a joint communication. The group identified several critical issues that led to this decision, including:
Conflicts of Interest: Concerns regarding the intersection of organizational goals and private interest.
Lack of Accountability: A perceived failure to enforce the organization’s own Code of Conduct, which these leaders helped establish to ensure ethical behavior and integrity.
The leadership team noted that they observed no consequences for behaviors that directly contravened the established standards of conduct intended to guide the organization’s decision-making and public presence. This departure follows a history of rigorous standards maintained by the South Carolina Legislative Committee, which required members to pledge themselves to the highest standards of ethical conduct, objectivity, and professional courtesy.
The State goes into great detail about internal pettiness and slights plague the organization. But what I feel is the most important part of the conflict has to do with former SC legislator and presently convicted sex offender Robert (RJ) May III. Before May got into trouble, he was an ally of Moms for Liberty and received the 2023 Legislator of the Year award from the group.
From The Pink News:
During his time in office May was outspoken against gender-affirming care, trans inclusion in sports and drag performances, and was listed as a speaker at Mom’s for Liberty’s Reclaiming Education in America event in 2022. Many of his concerns about LGBTQ+ topics were cited in regards to child safety.
In January, May was convicted of distributing child pornography and sentenced to 17.5 years in prison.
According to LGBTQNation in September of last year:
(May) — an anti-LGBTQ+ politician who has accused drag queens and transgender people of harming kids — pleaded guilty . . . to distributing child sex abuse material (CSAM) after first denying it, Newsweek reported — including images of adults sexually abusing seven-year-olds. . . . May used the screen name “joebidennnn69” to exchange 265 different files of toddlers and young children involved in sex acts on the Kik social media network during spring 2024. Representing himself in court — despite not having a law degree — May had originally asked the judge to throw out the warrant used to search his home, laptop, and mobile devices, as well as evidence that he had flown to Colombia to film himself having sex with three underage girls.
According to the letter from the former Moms for Liberty chairs, how the group in general dealt with the controversy about May was a "breaking point."
For many of us, the breaking point was the RJ May scandal. Following the arrest and federal guilty plea of former Representative RJ May on charges of distributing child sexual abuse material, we expected absolute moral clarity. Instead, South Carolina leaders were instructed to remain silent. Protecting the organization’s image took precedence over speaking out against child exploitation.
The State goes also goes into more detail about this:
“We wanted to speak out and say like we’re not aligned with him. We’re just as shocked as you,” said Dawn Pierce, who previously led the now defunct Lexington County Moms for Liberty chapter. “They put out a very short, very short statement, and that’s it,” Pierce added about the national organization.
The national organization said it advised the local chapters not to engage on social media with people who were attacking the organization.
“Moms For Liberty issued an unequivocal condemnation of RJ May and his atrocious actions,” a Moms for Liberty spokesperson said. “On social media, we observed that anti-Moms For Liberty trolls were trying to attack our South Carolina members and goad them into social media commentary. To protect our members, we asked that they not play into the hands of those bad actors and allow the organization’s statement to stand for itself.”
The local chapters wanted to revoke the award given to May after his arrest and send a statement denouncing him. But they were encouraged not to say anything.
The situation in South Carolina wouldn't be the first time Moms for Liberty found itself embroiled in a sex scandal. In 2023, one of its founders, Bridget Ziegler and her husband (now former) GOP Florida state chair Christian Ziegler was involved in the middle of a huge scandal when Christian was accused of raping a woman with who he and his wife allegedly had a three -way consensual sexual relationship with in the past.
And then more details came out regarding the sexual habits of the Zieglers.
From a report obtained by The Florida Trident:
The report, obtained by the Florida Trident and authored by Sarasota police Det. Angela Cox, recounts how Christian Ziegler went “on the prowl” in bars for women to bring home to Bridget, a Sarasota County School Board member who has backed a number of anti-LGBTQ measures at both the state and local level, for threesome encounters. While at the bars, Christian would surreptitiously photograph prospective women and text the photos to Bridget for approval, according to the report.
Investigators found “numerous sexual videos” on Christian Ziegler’s phone involving the couple and other women, according to Cox’s report. The detective noted that it wasn’t clear if the women in the videos knew they were being recorded or not. “There were numerous text messages between Bridget and Christian where they are on the prowl for a female and Bridget is directing him to numerous different bars in search of a female that they are both interested in,” Cox wrote of the Ziegler phone contents.
“During these conversations Christian is secretly taking photographs of women in the bars and sending them to Bridget asking her if she wants this one or that one. Bridget is telling him to pretend to take pictures of his beer, so they don’t see him taking pictures of them. She tells him ‘Don’t come home until your dick is wet.’”