Arrests tied to Moms for Liberty fall into a handful of distinct episodes: a former North Carolina chapter vice chair was arrested on federal January 6 charges in 2024, six counter-protesters were arrested outside the group’s 2023 national summit in Philadelphia, and a Philadelphia chapter leader was found to be a registered sex offender from a 2012 conviction. A separate rape and voyeurism investigation into co-founder Bridget Ziegler’s husband, Florida Republican Party chairman Christian Ziegler, produced no arrest and no criminal charges. Here is what happened in each case and where the matters stand.
Justina Guardino’s January 6 Arrest
Justina Guardino, former vice chair of the New Hanover County, North Carolina, chapter of Moms for Liberty, was arrested on September 12, 2024, in Wilmington on federal charges connected to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.1StarNews Online. Jan 6 Case Dismissed for Former New Hanover Moms for Liberty Leader She faced four federal misdemeanor counts: knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct in the Capitol, engaging in disorderly conduct with intent to impede Congress, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.2Port City Daily. Court Dismisses Justina Guardino’s Jan 6 Charges, Leaves Door Open for Future Case
FBI investigators used surveillance footage and cell phone records to place Guardino inside the Capitol. She was seen climbing through a broken window on the Upper West Terrace after a bike-rack barrier had been breached, then exiting and reentering through the Senate Wing Door, and appeared to record the interior on her phone before officers directed her to leave at about 3:24 p.m.1StarNews Online. Jan 6 Case Dismissed for Former New Hanover Moms for Liberty Leader After her arrest, Guardino described her time inside the building as “peaceful” and “akin to a tour,” saying she believed the Capitol was open to the public.3Port City Daily. Akin to a Public Tour: NHC Moms for Liberty Vice Chair Defends Presence on Capitol, Arrested for Jan 6
Guardino had already stepped down from her volunteer chapter role about two months before her arrest, notifying the chapter in July 2024.4StarNews Online. Former New Hanover Moms for Liberty Leader Charged in Connection to Jan 6 Locally, she had served as campaign manager for a Republican school board candidate and used public comment periods to promote conservative education positions.5WHQR. Feds Arrest New Hanover County Moms for Liberty Vice Chair on Jan 6 Charges
She pleaded not guilty and was set for a jury trial on February 18, 2025. The trial never happened. On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a directive ordering the dismissal of all January 6-related prosecutions, and federal prosecutors moved the next day to dismiss Guardino’s case.6WECT. Federal Charges Against Former NHC Moms for Liberty Vice Chair Dismissed After Trump Order On January 23, Senior U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell granted the motion but refused prosecutors’ request to dismiss “with prejudice.” She dismissed the case “without prejudice,” leaving a theoretical opening for future prosecution, though the statute of limitations on the misdemeanor charges runs out in 2026. Judge Howell called the executive order’s framing of January 6 prosecutions as a “national injustice” “flatly wrong” and said it “undermines the rule of law.”7WHQR. Federal Charges Against Former NHC Moms for Liberty Vice Chair Dismissed After Trump Order
Protest Arrests at the 2023 Philadelphia Summit
Six counter-protesters were arrested outside Moms for Liberty’s national summit in Philadelphia on July 2, 2023. Police took them into custody after they blocked traffic at 12th and Filbert Streets outside the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, where the summit was held. Five of the six were holding hands in the street; the sixth, a trans woman, was waving a flag over a barricade. All were charged with failure to disperse.8WHYY. People Arrested During Protests at Philadelphia Moms for Liberty Summit ACT UP Philadelphia, which had organized dance-party protests at the summit, said the arrested demonstrators were not part of its group and were “an autonomous group of activists in solidarity.”9Philadelphia Inquirer. Moms for Liberty Protesters Arrested in Philadelphia
The Christian Ziegler Investigation: No Arrest, No Charges
The most widely reported criminal matter connected to the organization did not produce an arrest. In late 2023, a woman accused Christian Ziegler, then chairman of the Florida Republican Party and husband of Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, of raping her during an encounter on October 2, 2023. The accuser said she had agreed to meet Christian expecting Bridget to be present as part of an ongoing sexual relationship among the three. When Bridget could not attend, the woman said she tried to cancel, but Christian came to her home and had sex with her without her consent while she was impaired by alcohol. Christian Ziegler acknowledged the sex but said the encounter was consensual, and he admitted he had recorded portions of it on his phone.10Politico. Rape Accusation Against Florida Republican Party Chair Ziegler
In January 2024, the Sarasota Police Department concluded a video of the encounter indicated it was “likely consensual” and declined to recommend sexual battery charges. Police did recommend that prosecutors pursue felony video voyeurism charges, based on the allegation that the woman had not consented to being recorded.11Politico. Christian Ziegler Won’t Be Charged With Rape In March 2024, prosecutors declined to file the voyeurism charge as well, citing the accuser’s “inconsistent statements” about whether she consented to the recording.12NBC Miami. No Video Voyeurism Charge for Ousted Florida GOP Chair Ziegler Christian Ziegler was never arrested or criminally charged in connection with the incident. Bridget Ziegler was not accused of any crime.
The fallout was still substantial. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Senator Rick Scott, and other Republican leaders called for Christian Ziegler’s resignation. The Florida Republican Party’s executive board censured him, stripped his authority, and cut his salary to one dollar before formally removing him in January 2024.13BBC. Florida Republican Party Fires Chairman Christian Ziegler In December 2023, the Sarasota County School Board voted 4-1 to request Bridget Ziegler’s resignation, with Ziegler casting the lone dissenting vote.14PBS NewsHour. Florida School Board Recommends Ouster of Moms for Liberty Co-Founder Over Republican Sex Scandal The board had no authority to remove her, and she refused to step down. She did resign from her position as a vice president at the Leadership Institute.15Mother Jones. In the Wake of a Sex Scandal, a Moms for Liberty Cofounder’s Career Is Crumbling
National co-founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich said they believed “any allegation of sexual assault should be taken seriously and fully investigated,” and noted that Bridget Ziegler had left the organization in February 2021, within a month of its founding.16Florida Today. Moms for Liberty: How Group Impacts Florida Education and Local Politics In October 2025, Christian and Bridget Ziegler filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Sarasota and two police detectives, alleging that investigators violated their Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights by obtaining overly broad search warrants and allowing private communications to become public. They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.17WFLA. Christian and Bridget Ziegler Sue City of Sarasota, Detectives Over Rights Violations
Phillip Fisher Jr.: A Prior Conviction Surfaces
In November 2023, Rolling Stone reported that Phillip Fisher Jr., a faith coordinator and outreach leader for the Philadelphia chapter of Moms for Liberty, was a registered sex offender. Fisher had pleaded guilty in 2012 to aggravated sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy, stemming from an incident in Chicago in January 2011. He served three years in prison and two years of supervised release and remains on both the Illinois state police sex offender list and the U.S. Justice Department’s national sex offender registry.18Rolling Stone. Moms for Liberty Organizer Is a Convicted Sex Offender
Fisher had also volunteered at the organization’s 2023 national summit in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia chapter chair, Sheila Armstrong, said she had obtained a “child abuse history certification” from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services that cleared Fisher. The state certification screens only for records in Pennsylvania’s child abuse database and does not capture all criminal convictions involving minors in other states.19The Guardian. Moms for Liberty Chapter Had Sex Offender as Outreach Leader Co-founder Tina Descovich pointed to the state certification as the systemic failure, saying the real story was “the system certifying this guy.”20U.S. Congress. House Judiciary Committee Submission Fisher called his conviction a “railroad job” and a “political situation” and resigned as a local Republican ward leader under pressure from the Philadelphia Republican City Committee.21Pennsylvania Independent. Moms for Liberty Philly Chapter Sex Offender Fisher was not re-arrested; the news was that his prior conviction had come to light while he held a chapter role.
A Related Court Case Readers Often Confuse
One case that circulates alongside the arrest coverage is not a criminal matter. In November 2021, Brevard County, Florida, chapter members sued the Brevard County School Board, saying board officials silenced them during public comment periods, interrupting them, threatening removal, and raising the prospect of criminal sanctions for speech the board deemed “abusive” or “personally directed.”22Florida Phoenix. Brevard School Board Policy Chills Moms for Liberty Speech, Appellate Court Rules On October 8, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in a 2-1 ruling, reversed a district court decision for the board. Judge Britt Grant wrote that the board’s policies barring “abusive” and “personally directed” speech were unconstitutionally vague and gave the presiding officer unchecked discretion, and that inconsistent enforcement “objectively chills expression.”23U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Moms for Liberty v. Brevard Public Schools, No. 23-10656 In October 2025, the Brevard County School Board approved a settlement paying over $567,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs.24Institute for Free Speech. Brevard Public Schools to Pay Over $567,000 in Fees After Losing Free Speech Case No arrests arose from the dispute.