Rebekah Jones, a former Florida Department of Health data scientist who claimed she was wrongly fired last year, has been charged with a felony against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices. as reported Monday by the Wall Street Journal.
Driving the news: Jones turned Sunday night after issuing an order for his arrest. Authorities stormed her home last month and sparked outcry online after she tweeted a video of the incident.
- At the time, the Florida Police Department (FDLE) told local media that it began an investigation on Nov. 10 “after receiving a complaint from the Department of Health about unauthorized access to a Department of Health messaging system which is part of an emergency alert system, which will only be used for emergencies. “
Get up to date fast: Jones was fired last year for saying she refused to “manipulate data” for the state, according to the Tallahassee diplomat.
- The Florida Department of Health has described Jones’ initial allegations of data manipulation as “false.”
- A spokesman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told the Miami Herald in May 2020 that Jones was removed from office for “a repeated course of insubordination,” which included the modification of the COVID-19 board. department.
- Jones later created his own coronavirus case tracker as an alternative to the state’s COVID-19 control panel.
What they say: “The raid was based on a lie. However, the state has issued an order for my arrest, although the “crime” is not related to the sentence, the scope of the sentence and they did not wait for a third party to review the confidential information of my computers “. Jones tweeted Saturday.
- “The new complaint was issued the day after a Tallahassee judge told police that if they did not investigate any crime, they should return my equipment. They found no evidence of anything related to the order, so they invented something new to come after me in retaliation, ”he added.
- “To protect my family from continued police violence and to show that I am willing to fight anything they throw at me, I will become a police officer in Florida on Sunday night. The governor will not win his war on science and freedom of expression It will not silence those who speak “.
- After releasing her after releasing bail on Monday, she told reporters she had just tested positive for COVID-19, for CNN.
The FDLE did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment, but in a statement to the WSJ, officials said, “Evidence recovered from a search warrant on Dec. 7 shows that Jones illegally accessed the system sending a message to approximately 1,750 people and downloaded confidential FDOH data and saved it to their devices. “
For the record: Jones denied sending the message or illegally accessing any restricted site, the WSJ noted.
The big picture: DeSantis has been criticized for his treatment of the pandemic.
- An investigation by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, published in early December, reported that “the DeSantis administration participated in a pattern of rotation and concealment that misled the public about the more serious health threat than the state. has never faced “.
In depth: Florida police attacked the home of a scientist who challenged the state for COVID-19 data