When Florida Department of Health employee Rebekah Jones noticed a discrepancy on the state’s COVID-19 statistics published on their website, she immediately told her supervisor. But the data scientist, who had created the COVID-19 portal, was rebuked and told to “manipulate” the figures.
Jones, who said she was told to censor the data by her supervisors with lower figures so businesses could reopen, would not comply. She was fired.
Jones has now filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen, and several agents in Leon County Circuit Civil Court. The plaintiff said her constitutional rights were violated, including an unlawful search and seizure inside her home. Jones is seeking more than $100,000.
A video posted by Jones of the raid on Twitter has gone viral, and the whistleblower charges Florida governor Ron DeSantis “sent the gestapo" for her.
DeSantis has been widely criticized for minimizing the pandemic and focusing on keeping businesses open throughout the rising numbers of patients with the novel coronavirus. DeSantis would not allow municipalities in Florida to enforce mask mandates or social distancing laws. Media reports from the Sun-Sentinel published an article that found DeSantis’ staff minimized the serious nature of the pandemic and shared misinformation, as numerous health department officials were told not to disclose important COVID-19 information to the public until after the election.
The video Jones took clearly shows police pointing a gun upstairs, where Jones’ daughter was located. However, body cam videos from police on-site also show the officers waiting patiently for twenty minutes and calmly speaking to Jones when she opens the door to her home.
The lawsuit by Jones alleges FDLE “violated her rights under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments,” and “terrorized” her family by coming in with “guns drawn.” Jones also alleges the raid was a “sham to punish her” for refusing to doctor accurate statistics on the state’s Cononavirus public dashboard. Jones claims the officers put a gun to her daughter’s head during the raid.
Law enforcement claims the raid was necessary to gain access to Jones’ computer after they were refused entry for twenty minutes.
Jones also filed a whistleblower complaint, which is still pending, with the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
With her computer seized, however, law officials now have the identifications of other whistleblowers who worked with her. Speaking with Chris Cuomo on CNN, Jones said she was worried about her confidants.
”On my phone is every communication I've ever had with someone who works at the state, who has come to me in confidence and told me things that could get them fired or in trouble like this,” said Jones. “And I just want to say to all those people right now, if he doesn't know already, DeSantis will know soon enough that you've been talking to me. So be careful.”
Attorney Larry Walters, who is representing Jones, agreed.
"This was about seizing and confiscating all of our client's confidential material, her contacts -- her communications with other whistleblowers," Walters said. "We're asking the court to put a stop to it.”
After she was fired, Jones created her own website with a dashboard that traced the Florida Coronavirus cases. She also launched a funding campaign to raise money for her attorney fees.
Law enforcement officials state they are investigating her for cybercrime since a breach into the Florida Health Department’s site was linked to Jones’ computer.
