The Florida data scientist, who claimed that state officials fired her for refusing to change the coronavirus numbers, said she plans to surrender to law enforcement officials a month after authorities break into her home.
Rebekah Jones, who helped develop Florida’s Covid-19 panel, has been in a month-long public battle with the state since she claimed that authorities dismissed her from office for her refusal to “manually alter the data to garner support for the reopening plan “. She announced on social media on Saturday that she planned to surrender to the authorities.
“To protect my family from ongoing police violence and to show that I am ready to fight anything they play against me, I am becoming a police officer in Florida on Sunday night,” said Jones.
A search warrant was executed at Jones’ Tallahassee’s home after she allegedly accessed a Department of Health communications platform and sent a group text message of 10 November warning users that it was “time to speak before 17,000 others people die ”.
She denied the charges and filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming that the December 7 operation was initiated to “silence” her online speech and obtain favors from Governor Ron DeSantis. Authorities seized Jones’ computer, cell phone and other devices.
In his Twitter thread on Saturday, Jones alleged that an arrest warrant was issued on a charge unrelated to the December operation and that authorities found no evidence that she sent the November 10 message.
“However, the police found documents that I received / downloaded from sources in the state, or something like that … it is not clear at this point what exactly they are saying that I had and shouldn’t have, but an agent confirmed that they don’t have nothing to do with the issue of the warrant, ”said Jones. “The attack was based on a lie.”
Jones also claimed that an agent told her lawyer that if she spoke against the police, the authorities could add more charges against her in an attempt to censor her speech.
The Florida Police Department confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that agents were working with Jones’ lawyers in his surrender and would release more information after Jones was in custody.
It is not clear what prosecution Jones faces in surrendering. Jones’ lawyer declined to comment on NBC News.
Jones’ departure from the state health department came after he stopped releasing the list of coronavirus deaths reported by Florida medical examiners – a count that was sometimes 10% higher than the official state count.
A spokeswoman for DeSantis claimed in a statement after Jones’ claims in May that Jones “exhibited a repeated course of insubordination” and “blatant disrespect.”
Jones has since sought protection for whistleblowers and developed another coronavirus panel, which she described in her lawsuit against the state as “scrupulously accurate and honest data”.
