Harvard student goes viral for takedown of Moms for Liberty co-founder in Florida

“To be extra clear: Bridget, you deserve to be fired from your job because you are terrible at your job, not because you had sex with a woman.”

LGBTQ+ activist and Harvard College student Zander Moricz called for Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler's resignation at a meeting last week. Sarasota Schools/YouTube

By Abby Patkin

December 18, 2023

A Harvard student’s message for embattled Florida school official Bridget Ziegler is going viral after he confronted the Moms for Liberty co-founder at a recent public meeting.

A member of the Sarasota County School Board and a champion of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, Ziegler has faced calls to resign amid revelations that she and her husband had a three-way sexual relationship with another woman. The relationship came to light after the same woman accused Ziegler’s husband — Republican Party of Florida Chairman Christian Ziegler — of rape in October.

Taking to the podium at last week’s school board meeting, LGBTQ+ activist and Harvard College student Zander Moricz said Bridget Ziegler deserved to be fired, but not because of her private sex life.

“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,” Moricz said in his remarks, which were shared widely on social media.

Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler listens to public comments, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, after her fellow school board members approved a resolution calling on her to resign. – Mike Lang / Sarasota Herald-Tribune via AP

A former Sarasota County student himself, Moricz previously went viral after he was reportedly barred from saying the word “gay” in his 2022 graduation speech and instead used curly hair as a euphemism. He said his first interaction with Ziegler was when she reposted a “hate article” about him.

“You are a reminder that some people view politics as a service to others, while some view it as an opportunity for themselves,” Moricz said. “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 because you do not believe in the public school system that you’ve been leading.”

He questioned why news of Ziegler’s personal relationship seemed to matter more than her actions on the school board.

“To be extra clear: Bridget, you deserve to be fired from your job because you are terrible at your job, not because you had sex with a woman,” Moricz said.

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In a follow-up video posted to Instagram, Moricz — who serves as executive director of the Social Equity Through Education Alliance — reiterated that while he does not shame Ziegler for her private sex life, “the hypocrisy is glaring.”

“We are the ones who have been begging her to leave our personal lives alone, and yet she has been engaging in the exact actions she’s been villainizing this whole time,” Moricz said.