Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Monday raided the home of Rebekah Jones, the former Department of Health employee who once managed Florida’s COVID-19 data dashboard and has become a vocal critic of the DeSantis administration’s handling of the pandemic since she was ousted in May.
Jones said state police entered her house around 8:30 a.m. to serve a warrant on her computer after a complaint filed by the state Department of Health. The officers seized her phone and the computer she uses to track and release data on COVID-19 cases in Florida — and held Jones and her family at gunpoint, she said.
“They took evidence of corruption at the state level,” Jones posted on Twitter. “They claimed it was about a security breach.”
In a series of tweets posted after the incident, Jones said the officers entered her home and one of them drew a gun.
“I tell them my husband and my two children are upstairs… and THEN one of them draws his gun,” she tweeted.
In a video posted by Jones, agents can be seen ushering her out of her house and asking who else is inside the home. Jones tells them her husband and two children are upstairs, and an officer walks toward the stairs holding up a gun while asking Jones’ husband to come down.
“Do not point that gun at my children! He just pointed a gun at my children,” Jones can be heard shouting.
FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger confirmed agents seized computer equipment at Jones’ home in Tallahassee in response to a complaint from the Department of Health.
Plessinger said agents have been investigating “unauthorized access to a Department of Health messaging system” used to send out emergency alerts. The FDLE investigation led agents to believe someone at Jones’ address illegally accessed the alert system, Plessinger said. An affidavit for search warrant provided by the FDLE Monday night showed agents tracked the alert system login as originating from an IP address corresponding to Jones’ address.
“When agents arrived, they knocked on the door and called Ms. Jones in an attempt to minimize disruption to the family,” Plessinger said in a written statement. “Ms. Jones refused to come to the door for 20 minutes and hung-up on agents. After several attempts and verbal notifications that law enforcement officers were there to serve a legal search warrant, Ms. Jones eventually came to the door and allowed agents to enter. Ms. Jones[‘] family was upstairs when agents made entry into the home.”
Plessinger said agents entered Jones’ home “in accordance with normal protocols” and did not point weapons at anyone in the house.
When reached Monday, a spokesperson with the Florida Department of Health referred questions about the investigation to the FDLE. Plessinger said the investigation began Nov. 10.
The Tampa Bay Times reported last month that members of the State Emergency Response Team had received a message on that date, urging them to “speak up before another 17,000 people are dead.” At the time, a spokesman with the Department of Health said the state had not identified the person responsible for sending the message.
Jones was removed from her position as the manager of Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard in early May. At the time, she told several Florida news organizations she was involuntarily removed from the job after she was ordered to censor parts of the data.
The Tampa Bay Times obtained agency emails corroborating Jones’ statements, adding Jones “objected to the removal of records showing people had symptoms or positive tests before the cases were announced.”
In a written statement issued Monday night, Jones’ attorney Lawrence Walters called the FDLE agents’ behavior while serving the warrant “unnecessarily reckless and aggressive” and said Jones cooperated with agents.
“We are concerned that these actions may be retaliation in response to her whistleblower claim against the Department of Health and her criticism of the Governor’s COVID 19 response,” he wrote.
“We will thoroughly investigate the alleged basis for this search which resulted in the forced disclosure of confidential communications with our adversary in litigation. We intend to pursue all lawful avenues to seek return of our client’s property and vindicate her civil rights.”
Video of Monday’s raid prompted shocked reactions online, with many questioning whether the show of force was necessary.
“Horrifying. Why are guns being drawn out for a ‘data breach’?” tweeted state Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat.
Jones in her tweets blamed Gov. Ron DeSantis for the raid and said she would continue to operate her COVID-19 data dashboard. A representative for the governor’s office referred questions to the FDLE.
“If Desantis thought pointing a gun in my face was a good way to get me to shut up, he’s about to learn just how wrong he was,” Jones tweeted. “I’ll have a new computer tomorrow. And then I’m going to get back to work.”
krice@orlandosentinel.com
