# Florida agents raid home of fired public health agent who refused to manipulate COVID data **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 8, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523 "2020-12-08T00:47:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/222 "2021-01-14T22:28:48Z")
FWIW my read of your position is that 1) she may have cyberstalked/ her ex, 2) therefore she may be the kind of person who overreacts/doesn’t play well with others, 3) therefore she may have been fired for insubordination. But this fails to address the fact that both Mrs. Jones and the state agree that she was fired for insubordination. It has nothing to do with the validity of her claim that the state wanted to misrepresent numbers. ETA: > In the CNN interview, Jones was asked whether she was removed because of an attitude problem. > > “Somewhat, yes, if refusing to mislead the public during a health crisis is insubordination then I will wear that badge with honor,” Jones answered. > > […] > > Jones was told to resign or be fired last Monday [May 18] and her last work day was Thursday, after a pattern of overstepping her duties as data manager. […] > Documents obtained by The Associated Press show a supervisor warned Jones on April 9 after she posted a message on a newspaper Facebook page about the dashboard. She was told she needs approval before publicly discussing the work. Less than two weeks later, she was warned again when a mapping company’s online magazine published an extensive interview with Jones. Her supervisor later found a public blog in which Jones discussed the dashboard, released unauthorized charts and added “political commentary” in posts that appear to have been taken down. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/223 "2021-01-14T22:40:59Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > Alright. So what could a previous allegation of cyberstalking her ex _possibly_ have to do with the validity of her claim that she was (later) fired for refusing to fudge/misrepresent COVID numbers? Maybe there’s a connection but I’m not seeing it. Goes to credibility. > [@Zakalwe](#): > > I do think her prior behavior does potentially reflect on her firing though. The cyberstalking, _to me_ , indicates a person who is unwilling to admit she’s wrong or has an issue. “Hey, you need to run your changes past us before publishing them.” becomes “WHY ARE YOU CENSORING ME?!?!?!?” I can’t say what happened since I wasn’t there. But as a “juror” in the court of public opinion, I find her less than perfectly credible. And at least part of that assessment is based on the fact that she apparently has issues in personal relationships (and work is, for most people, a personal relationship). Not dispositive, but does impact my assessment. ETA (since I see your next post on preview), to put it bluntly, I’m not convinced that she’s telling the truth. And her past is part of that lack of conviction. As is the fact that she has, as I understand it, shown NO evidence at all that her story is true. If there is some, please point me to it. Did the numbers change after she left? If so, up or down? The article you posted says nothing about changing numbers **except her statement** that she was somehow ordered to “mislead the public”. Which we must judge based on our assessment of HER credibility as a witness. Perhaps the order was “quit posting data before it’s been verified”. And she thinks “verified” meant “changed” and refused to listen to reason - kind of like refusing to listen to an ex who says “it’s over” and getting charged with cyberstalking. > [@Helena330](#): > > Rebekah’s been aggregating and posting COVID data regarding Florida’s public schools. This is her website. And does that data differ in any way other than presentation from the State’s official data? Is she repackaging already available data or does she have other “untainted” data sources? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/224 "2021-01-14T22:42:15Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > But this fails to address the fact that both Mrs. Jones and the state agree that she was fired for insubordination. It has nothing to do with the validity of her claim that the state wanted to misrepresent numbers. Exactly. Every person who might possibly be a whistle blower was fired for insubordination. Of course she is guilty of insubordination. And it’s not shocking that the sort of person who doesn’t play well with others (stalking her ex) is the sort of person who would stand up to management and say “hell no”. None of that is in question. What’s in question is whether the state was trying to obscure the data, to give a more favorable impression. And whether it did so badly enough that she was (morally) right to take a stand against it. And whether or not that’s true isn’t much related to whether she stalked her ex. As i said above, if she was accused of posting falsehoods about him on line, THAT would be relevant. But I haven’t heard anything like that. I haven’t heard any accusations that suggest she’s not honest. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/225 "2021-01-14T22:46:18Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Goes to credibility. Exactly. It depends on the evidence law of a particular jurisdiction, but allegations of cyber-stalking could potentially go to credibility. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/226 "2021-01-14T22:46:49Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > The article you posted says nothing about changing numbers **except her statement** that she was somehow ordered to “mislead the public”. Which we must judge based on our assessment of HER credibility as a witness. Not true. You must have missed the link from upthread. > **[Public remarks prompted Florida virus data curator's firing](https://apnews.com/article/eaf591c566f99175234d0d3d031777bf)** > > TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The woman who raised questions about Florida’s COVID-19 data after being ousted as the data’s curator had been reprimanded several times and ultimately fired for violating Health Department policy by making public remarks... > She said the state made changes […] for example […] Instead of showing the rate of all positive tests, it began showing the rate of new positive tests […] This was not a behind-the-scenes change. DeSantis announced it at an April 24 news conference […]. Jones also said she opposed how health officials decided to exempt rural counties below 75,000 population from more stringent criteria for reopening […] > […] > Jones, 30, also has cited her dismay over Health Department officials taking down a category field in line data for individual COVID-19 cases — but says all data was restored later unaltered. > Deputy Secretary for Health Dr. Shamarial Roberson said that Jones’s pushback was over the “EventDate” category […] ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/227 "2021-01-14T23:24:31Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > You must have missed the link from upthread. I did miss it. So, she was fired for insubordination and overstepping her role. Given. Then why is she claiming that the overly aggressive raid was retaliation? Retaliation for what? She’s not a whistleblower, right? She admits no data was changed and the state continues to post the data. Why is she being persecuted? Something about all of this doesn’t make sense to me and, now, given more knowledge of her past, I wonder if the root of the issue (so to speak), is her, her personality, and sense of importance. This in spite of my initial instinct - which is to not trust DeSantis as far as I can throw him. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/228 "2021-01-15T00:39:11Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > She’s not a whistleblower, right? […] Why is she being persecuted? I thought we covered this early in the thread. She filed a formal whistleblower complaint in July, which is still ongoing. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/229 "2021-01-15T01:05:16Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Then why is she claiming that the overly aggressive raid was retaliation? Retaliation for what? She’s not a whistleblower, right? She admits no data was changed and the state continues to post the data. You can be a whistleblower if you just publicize plans to do wrong stuff. [Ron MacLean](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_MacLean) won whistleblower protection after talking publicly about TSA plans to eliminate Air Marshals on long flights. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/230 "2021-01-15T01:28:20Z")
But she didn’t publicize anything that wasn’t already public, did she? Reading **Max\_S** ’s link above, I didn’t see anything like that. Can you be a whistleblower just for saying “My boss is wrong?” Calling your bosses jerks in public doesn’t really seem very…whistleblowery to me. MacLean’s case was different in that the information he revealed wasn’t public (even if it wasn’t considered classified at the time he revealed it). ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/231 "2021-01-15T04:28:18Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Calling your bosses jerks in public doesn’t really seem very…whistleblowery to me. She didn’t just call her bosses jerks, she made specific allegations that _the government was misleading the public_ about vital statistics during a public health crisis, and that she was fired for refusing to cooperate. Government employees who allege that the government is misleading the public are referred to as whistleblowers. Those who file official whistleblower complaints alleging that the government is misleading the public, [as Mrs. Jones did](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/17/rebekah-jones-whistleblower-complaint-against-florida-health-department-covid-19/5458243002/), are without a doubt whistleblowers. > "After nearly two weeks on leave, Jones contacted a supervisor for advice on filing a whistleblower complaint. Shortly afterward, on May 18, the state fired her. That’s the same day DeSantis allowed all Florida’s counties to enter Phase 1 of reopening, a process that began May 4. > > DeSantis has said she was fired because “she didn’t listen to the people who were her superiors.” After she was fired she filed the whistleblower complaint and stayed in contact with people who still worked for the state. That was in July. [The major fear](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/columns/2020/12/08/fired-data-analyst-rebekah-jones-blames-gov-desantis-for-staging-raid-over-message-on-state-site/6493468002/), stated early in this thread (did you miss the first half of the discussion?), is that the government raided her house to find out who her sources were. > Jones said the FDLE agents left electronic devices behind, only taking the laptop where she did her data work and her cellphone. > > “And on my phone is every communication I’ve ever had with someone who works for the state who has come to me in confidence and told me something that could get them fired or in trouble like this,” she said. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/232 "2021-01-15T04:50:05Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > She didn’t just call her bosses jerks, she made specific allegations that _the government was misleading the public_ about vital statistics during a public health crisis, and that she was fired for refusing to cooperate. The government was misleading people by having DeSantis have a press conference announcing a change in the way the data was calculated? Really? The only substantive change was the calc on the positivity rate - **which was announced**. Then she complained about it. At least that’s my read based on the articles YOU supplied. > [@Max\_S](#): > > is that the government raided her house to find out who her sources were Sources for what? Her numbers match their numbers. If there are other numbers that were getting suppressed, why didn’t she and this brave soul publish them and call it out? You think she’s the second coming of Moses down from the Mount with the SECRET TRUTH THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT. I’m not going to convince you and you’re not going to convince me. Enjoy your conspiracy theories (you can call yourself C-Anon). ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/233 "2021-01-15T07:11:43Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > You think she’s the second coming of Moses down from the Mount with the SECRET TRUTH THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT. I’m not going to convince you and you’re not going to convince me. Enjoy your conspiracy theories (you can call yourself C-Anon). For that, I respect you a little bit less. The specific complaint about which tests count when showing the rate of positive tests is _one_ example of changes that she was told to make, hence the “for example”. You can evaluate the validity of this claim of misrepresentation from your armchair because the governor publicly announced the change in a press conference, which you can evaluate his rationale yourself if you so wish. That’s why I quoted it, and it’s probably why the article quoted it. It’s reasonable to assume Mrs. Jones received instructions consistent with the governor’s announcement. For this example, the probative evidence is all in the public domain, and so you don’t need to rely on her word to determine whether the government tried to mislead the public or not. The other complaint I quoted was about removing a column of data, which the state admitted to doing. The complaint, admission, and the data itself is all in the public domain. So again, you are able to determine for yourself whether the government tried to mislead the public in that specific case, because all of the evidence is in front of you. Now, I think she’s a whistleblower because she alleged that the government was misleading the public, and she filed an official whistleblower complaint to that effect. I think the governor _is_ trying to manipulate statistics to mislead the public - not to falsify, just mislead. I made that determination for myself, just like I did when President Trump cited misleading COVID statistics for Mr. Swan’s Axios interview. I did not rely on the credibility of Rebekah Jones for this determination. Regarding the “event date” data field, I’m not convinced that it was bad faith manipulation - the govt. has a point there in that event date is not verified. I know that from personal knowledge. With only a minimal number of what I think are reasonable assumptions I am comfortable concluding that Mrs. Jones was fired for doing the right thing. I’m not sure whether the raid was ordered due to a legitimate criminal investigation or for some other, malicious reason like whistleblower intimidation. I have yet to see how Mrs. Jones’s alleged cyberstalking of her ex has any bearing on that question. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/234 "2021-01-15T13:19:40Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > It’s completely bonkers that they were able to arrest her based on that accusation. I realize this is an old post, but I just read through the thread today. Upon finishing it, is the above correct? My understanding is she has not been arrested. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/235 "2021-01-15T13:26:09Z")
I think I was wrong. I thought they’d arrested her, but now I think they just stole her laptop and phone, and waved guns in the general direction of her family. (And yes, I realize that technically they took the hardware legally. Not all applications of the law are good. She was robbed by armed cops.) ---
**Author:** ![Jillwood77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e47c2d/32.png) [@Jillwood77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillwood77)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/236 "2021-01-15T13:32:01Z")
Well if people can’t educated one self not to store it at home on your own server I don’t feel sorry for her. She should have stores it on server in other country that is does not play nice to the US if she was concern. But I don’t know why she thought Covid is hyped up by the media. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/237 "2021-01-15T13:50:53Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > The government was misleading people by having DeSantis have a press conference announcing a change in the way the data was calculated? Really? Whether she is correct or not in her allegations is irrelevant; you wrote that calling her bosses jerks didn’t seem whistleblowery, but that is not why she is a whistleblower. She is a whistleblower for the reasons **Max\_S** wrote, regardless of whether she has a leg to stand on with her allegations. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/238 "2021-01-15T19:14:05Z")
> [@Jillwood77](#): > > Well if people can’t educated one self not to store it at home on your own server I don’t feel sorry for her. > > She should have stores it on server in other country Store what? Her website is hosted on the same hosting service that the Florida DoH uses, ArcGIS Online. When the police raided her house they did not shut down her COVID dashboard. They prevented her from updating it for one day because she had to buy a new laptop, though. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/239 "2021-01-18T16:51:12Z")
A warrant was issued for her arrest (today? yesterday?) and she turned herself in. > **[Data Scientist Rebekah Jones, Facing Arrest, Turns Herself In To Florida...](https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/01/18/957914495/data-scientist-rebekah-jones-facing-arrest-turns-herself-in-to-florida-authoriti)** > > Rebekah Jones has said she lost her job after refusing to manipulate data to suggest Florida was ready to ease coronavirus restrictions. > Rebekah Jones, the data scientist who helped create Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard, has turned herself in to police, in response to an arrest warrant issued by the state. > > Jones is charged with one count of “offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices,” the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in a statement Monday. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/240 "2021-01-18T19:09:54Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > one count of “offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices,” That sounds very serious. Probably will get 10 years in prison. She might have stolen a pen from the office too. Definitely more serious than storming with a mob to the Capitol building, with the express purpose of killing legislators, and actually killing a police officer. That’s just “patriotism” or something. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/241 "2021-01-19T20:14:06Z")
Sarcasm aside, I think it’s a third-degree felony charge carrying a maximum of 5 years imprisonment plus $5,000 fine. ~Max [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523.md?page=13)