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Fired Florida COVID-19 Data Scientist Rebekah Jones Drops Suit Against FDLE

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) - Florida's former COVID-19 data scientist Rebekah Jones has dismissed her lawsuit against the Florida Department of Law Enforcement over an armed raid on her home.

Jones is facing a charge of violating Florida's computer crime laws.

She had been under investigation since early November after someone illegally accessed the state's emergency alert health system, warning employees "to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead. You know this is wrong. You don't have to be a part of this. Be a hero."

Federal authorities raided her home in December, seizing her computers and other data equipment.

"Evidence retrieved from a search warrant on December 7 shows that Jones illegally accessed the system sending a message to approximately 1,750 people and downloaded confidential FDOH data and saved it to her devices," according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Jones has denied their claims.

Right after the raid, she tweeted a video of agents entering her house and accused Gov. Ron DeSantis of sending the "Gestapo" after her.  She said they pointed guns at her and her kids.

The DeSantis administration fired Jones in May of 2020 after she accused state health officials of manipulating data to suppress the number of reported COVID-19 cases and deaths. After her dismissal, Jones set up a competing COVID-19 dashboard to display data about the virus.

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