A Florida data scientist who accused the state of manipulating coronavirus data announced she would turn herself in on Sunday night after authorities issued an arrest warrant.
Rebekah Jones, one of the data scientists who helped create the COVID-19 dashboard in Florida, stated on Twitter that she would surrender to authorities about a month after police raided her home.
“To protect my family from ongoing police brutality, and to show that I am willing to fight anything they throw at me, I turn myself into the Florida police on Sunday night,” Jones tweeted. “The governor will not win his war on science and freedom of speech. He will not silence those who speak out. “
To protect my family from ongoing police brutality and to show that I am willing to fight anything they throw at me, I turn myself into the Florida police on Sunday night. The governor will not win his war on science and freedom of speech. He will not silence those who speak out.
– Rebekah Jones (@GeoRebekah) January 16, 2021
Jones has claimed she was removed from her position in May for refusing to “manually change data” to support the argument for lifting the coronavirus restrictions, but a spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantis Republicans in Florida close ranks with Trump after Capitol siege Once slam-dunk nominee, Trump’s 2024 aspirations are already cheers after Capitol chaos State and federal officials grapple over vaccine rollout, slowing MORE (R) accused Jones in May of “repeated disobedience” and “blatant disdain”.
Police allege they used a communications platform from the Ministry of Health to send a November 10 text message saying it was “time to speak before 17,000 more people are dead.” Law enforcement acted on Dec. 7 on a search warrant to investigate the text, which Jones has denied.
On Twitter, Jones claimed a warrant for her arrest based on an accusation unrelated to the raid, and said there was no evidence she sent the group text.
“They found no evidence of anything related to the warrant, so they came up with something new to come after me in retaliation,” she said.
“However, the police did find documents that I received / downloaded from sources in the state, or something similar … it is not clear at this point what exactly they say I should have had that I should not have, but a cop confirmed it has nothing to do with the subject matter of the warrant, “Jones said.” The raid was based on a lie.
The data scientist also said an officer told her attorney that officials could bring more charges if she spoke out against the police.
The governor’s office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FDLE confirmed to NBC News Sunday that agents were working with Jones’s attorneys and would release more information after she was taken into custody.
Jones has filed a lawsuit against the state for the robbery, called it an illegal act of retaliation and an attempt to silence her, and has requested a return from the state computer equipment that the authorities seized during the raid.
The data scientist has accused the state of misrepresenting the data, including only reporting the number of new positive COVID-19 tests. After she left the Florida Department of Health, the state stopped releasing its list of coronavirus deaths by medical researchers, which was sometimes 10 percent higher than the state, according to NBC News.