Florida Disclose Police Raid Dwelling of DeSantis Critic

Armed officers with the Florida Division of Legislation Enforcement served a search warrant Monday morning at the residence of a fired articulate coronavirus files scientist who has said Gov. Ron DeSantis is seeking to downplay the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rebekah Jones, who helped make the COVID dashboard for the articulate Division of Effectively being, posted a video on Twitter of officers retaining what appear to be drawn firearms internal her Tallahassee procedure, the put she lives along with her husband and two kids. She said officers seized a phone and laptop she uses to post coronavirus case numbers.

“They pointed a gun in my face. They pointed weapons at my kids,” she wrote. “They took evidence of corruption at the articulate level.”

An FDLE spokesperson denied officers pointed weapons at somebody and said the quest turn out to be once conducted in a skill to diminish disruption, CNN reported.

The FDLE said it turn out to be once investigating a articulate Division of Effectively being grievance that somebody illegally accessed a articulate govt emergency administration plan closing month and despatched a textual content message to extra than 1,700 articulate staff urging them to talk out about the coronavirus crisis, CNN said.

An FDLE affidavit said investigators traced the Nov. 10 message to an IP take care of linked to Jones’ procedure, CNN said.

“It be time to talk up earlier than one other 17,000 folks are unnecessary,” the message said, in retaining with the affidavit. ” right here is pass. You develop no longer need to be piece of this. Be a hero. Affirm out earlier than or no longer it is too unhurried.”

In an interview on Monday night with CNN, Jones denied she despatched the textual content message.

“I’m no longer a hacker,” Jones suggested CNN, adding that the language of the textual content turn out to be once “no longer the style I focus on” and contained correct errors she’d by no procedure kind.

“The option of deaths that the actual person feeble wasn’t even lawful,” she said. “They were in actual fact below by about 430 deaths. I’d by no procedure round down 430 deaths.”

Jones feeble to work for the articulate Division of Effectively being as a geospatial analyst after which a Geographic Data Diagram specialist. Jones suggested Florida Nowadays that she turn out to be once fired closing May per chance from her job with the Division of Effectively being because she refused to “manipulate files” on the COVID dashboard in a skill that would per chance per chance kind it more straightforward for the articulate to reopen the economy.

For the time being, the articulate Division of Effectively being said Tuesday that Jones had “exhibited a repeated course of insubordination” and made changes to the dashboard without approval from supervisors, CNN reported.

Since being fired, she has persisted to criticize DeSantis and post facts about the coronavirus scenario in Florida on her get COVID dashboard.

She suggested CNN on Monday the FDLE brokers took her work laptop and her phone, nonetheless no longer other family electronics.

“On my phone is every verbal substitute I’ve ever had with somebody who works at the articulate who has advance to me in self belief and suggested me issues that would per chance per chance gain them fired or in bother like this,” she said. “DeSantis will know rapidly adequate that you just may per chance per chance were talking to me, so watch out.”

DeSantis spokesperson Fred Piccolo said “the governor’s articulate of enterprise had no involvement, no files, no nothing, of this investigation,” CNN reported.