Former Florida Department of Health data scientist Rebekah Jones, who was fired in May, sued the Florida Department of Law Enforcement over a raid of her home two weeks ago, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.
Jones alleges her constitutional rights and state law were violated during the Dec. 7 raid.
The suit filed Monday in Leon County civil court states that the “basis of the warrant was a sham to punish plaintiff for her protected speech.”
Jones was very vocal about how the government was tracking coronavirus numbers prior to her ouster in early May. She was in charge of the state’s coronavirus dashboard in her role as manager of Geographic Information Systems at the Florida Department of Health. After she left, she set up her own dashboard that featured state data on virus statistics.
According to the newspaper, offices served the warrant on her home after they said they traced an unauthorized entry into a Florida Department of Emergency Management text message service back to an IP address registered to Jones.
She denies using the service. She also claims she did not use it to send a message to thousands of Florida Department of Health employees that read, in part, “It’s time to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead. You know this is wrong.”
So far, Jones has not been charged with a crime. According to legal experts, she could face up to five years in prison if she is charged and found guilty of accessing the messaging service without permission.
But the newspaper reports that security for the program was not strict and that usernames and passwords for the service were publicly posted on the Florida Department of Health website.
Her attorney Rick Johnson said his legal team will file a motion on Tuesday asking the judge to tell FDLE to return the electronics taken from her house as evidence.
“I hope a court orders them to give it back to us before they have a chance to examine it,” Johnson said.
Jones claims she was fired for refusing to alter virus figures. The state contends she was fired for insubordination. Jones also has a pending whistleblower lawsuit against the state over her firing.
Marisa Herman ✉
Marisa Herman, a Newsmax senior reporter, focuses on major and investigative stories. A University of Florida graduate, she has more than a decade of experience as a reporter for newspapers, magazines, and websites.
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