Arrest Warrant Issued For Ex-Florida Data Scientist Rebekah Jones

TALLAHASSEE, FL - After learning the state issued a warrant for her arrest, Rebekah Jones, a former Department of Health data scientist who built Florida’s coronavirus dashboard early in the pandemic, tweeted that she’ll turn herself in to authorities Sunday night.

She was fired from the DOH in May for what Gov. Ron DeSantis described as "insubordination." Jones, considered a whistleblower by many, said she was fired for not manipulating coronavirus data to support the state's reopening. She went on to create a competing dashboard, Florida COVID Action, and has been an outspoken critic of DeSantis and his administration.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents raided her Tallahassee home in early December, seizing her computer and smartphone. They also pointed guns at Jones and her children, she tweeted.

According to a search warrant issued at the time of the raid, an unauthorized message compelling DOH employees to speak out about Florida’s handling of coronavirus was sent from the state's emergency management account on Nov. 10. It was traced back to an IP address at Jones' home, reports said. She has denied sending the message.

She has also reportedly sued the FDLE, calling the basis of their search on her home "a sham," and asked the courts to force state police to return her computer equipment. She claims the state violated her constitutional rights.

Jones tweeted on Saturday that the “FDLE found no evidence of a message sent last Nov. to DOH staff telling them to 'speak out' on any of the devices they took - the entire basis for the raid on my home in Dec. The warrant was based on a lie. We argued this in court just last week. This should be victory.”

She tweeted that her new arrest warrant is related to “documents (she) received/downloaded from sources in the state, or something of that nature.”

She added, “It isn't clear at this point what exactly they're saying I had that I shouldn't have had, but an agent confirmed it has nothing to do with the subject of the warrant.”

Jones and her attorney were also told that she faces one criminal charge, but not the nature of what she’s being arrested for, she tweeted. She also claims that a state agent told her “that speaking out or going to the media may result in police ‘stacking’ additional charges. All of this just to silence a critic of a governor who failed to do his job and got thousands killed as a result.”

In an email, Jessica Cary, a spokesperson for FDLE, said that Jones' pending arrest "is within the scope of the December search warrant."

"Our case remains active. Once she turns herself in, we’ll be able to provide the information," Cary said.

This article originally appeared on the Bradenton Patch