# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/162 "2020-12-13T20:37:28Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > …how foolish have the Florida authorities been?.. Florida makes Texas look like Vermont. That said, I personally doubt that this matter will come to any sort of trial. But my foundation for that is what reasonable people might do in their own interest. I have scant evidence for that. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/163 "2020-12-13T22:34:00Z")
I"ve heard that sometimes people steal pens from their workplace. This is theft. A felony. Employers should call the police on these people, and they can get a warrant, go in guns drawn and haul these people out to face the consequences. Theft is theft. We cannot condone any illegal activities. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/164 "2020-12-13T22:36:37Z")
Thank you, @Senegoid and @DavidNRockies. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/165 "2020-12-13T22:52:18Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Supposedly, each device has a permanent unique hard-coded MAC address that never changes. Other routers, DNS servers, or devices on the local network, etc., could save that information about other devices they have communicated with. Modern IOS and Android devices do have a permanent MAC address, but they generate random ones for the different networks they connect to in order to prevent tracking. I’m not sure if Macs or Windows computers do it to, but there is no technical barrier to doing so. This behavior can be disabled, but in the latest versions of IOS and Android it is on by default. Generally the same randomized MAC address is reused for the same WIFI network so you aren’t having to constantly login to a portal and re-authenticate. For IPv4 there is going to be a DHCP server somewhere on the network. In most cases it is going to be the home router or router/modem combination. The DHCP server will at a minimum keep a record of what MAC address is associated with which IP address that it has leased. Once the lease expires then there may no longer be any record. Some will keep a record and reuse the same address, so every time you come home your phone gets the same IP address. Others don’t, and you’ll get a new address every time. Additionally, the security on home networks is very loose. Any device that connects to the network can just assign itself whatever (unused) address it feels like, and the router won’t have any record of that, except an ephemeral arp table, which will be gone a few minutes after the device stops generating traffic. Someplace I saw (up thread?) that it was an IPv6 address, in which case it probably is working differently. In that case, the ISP assigns a /64 or /56 block of addresses to the network, and devices either self configure or are assigned an address in that block. Usually devices will get multiple IPv6 addresses, but will usually connect to the outside world with a private address, in which parts of the address are random. Another option is to use an IPv6 address derived from the MAC address, which as discussed early might itself be random. So, there are several hurtles here. Does the state know the IP address where the message originated? Does the ISP who owns it know who they had assigned it to at the time it was used? Not all ISPs have accurate records, or they mess up the time, UTC vs EST, for example. If the IP address, or IPv6 /64 block, was assigned to her home determining which device sent the message from just the IP address is going to be near impossible. Very long, sorry. So if the IP address used to send the message was given to the ISP, and they came back and said it came from her house, that would be pretty suspicious to me, and worth further investigation (if it’s worth even bothering to investigate at all). Of course an IP address is not a person, and the prosecution definitely does not want me on the jury if the only evidence they have is an IP address. And that is all if we accept what the police and prosecutors are saying is true, and not just a story to harass her. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/166 "2020-12-13T23:26:59Z")
Last I checked, theft of \>$1000 was a felony, and theft of a lesser amount wa a misdemeanor. That was in NY a couple of decades ago. It probably varies by state and may change over time. But I doubt that stealing a pen is a felony. Just like posting to a semi-public email list shouldn’t be a felony. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/167 "2020-12-14T00:34:36Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Just like posting to a semi-public email list shouldn’t be a felony. Absolutely agree, that’s outrageous to me. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/168 "2021-01-11T20:56:47Z")
Sorry to bump this after a month but I was reading a NY Times article about this yesterday and the final paragraph doesn’t so too good about her. I’m hoping she this does not reflect on her Covid info. Normal people don’t stalk exes. [NYT Article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/12/09/florida-republican-resigns-raid/) Jones has encountered law enforcement before. She faces a pending misdemeanor charge of cyberstalking a former romantic partner in 2019, to which she has pleaded not guilty, court records show. Another cyberstalking charge and a sexual cyber-harassment charge stemming from the same incident were dropped. Previous charges against her of criminal mischief, trespassing, robbery and contempt of court for violating a domestic violence injunction were also dropped ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/169 "2021-01-11T21:04:02Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I’m hoping she this does not reflect on her Covid info. Of course it doesn’t, the SDMB already concluded that she is a hero above reproach. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/170 "2021-01-11T21:27:48Z")
So, even if she did access the network: What’s the evidence that that access was unauthorized? She used a password that she was knowingly and deliberately given, and that password was never disabled. That looks to me like she was still authorized. ---
**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 11, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/171 "2021-01-11T21:30:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What’s the evidence that that access was unauthorized? Apparently breaking news says she faces a pending misdemeanor charge, so we are stupid for believing anything she has to say anymore. I guess this is the yardstick we are supposed to use. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/172 "2021-01-11T21:38:58Z")
I bet she was on the crackaPCPajuana too! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/173 "2021-01-11T21:47:27Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > What’s the evidence that that access was unauthorized? > > Apparently breaking news says she faces a pending misdemeanor charge, so we are stupid for believing anything she has to say anymore. > > I guess this is the yardstick we are supposed to use. Don’t forget a bunch of other misdemeanor charges – that were dropped. ---
**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 11, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/174 "2021-01-11T21:56:34Z")
She probably makes shitty cornbread too. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/175 "2021-01-11T22:01:59Z")
Wow Dopers. Do you know a lot of people that have had 5 criminal charges against them? I don’t. Lest you forget, cyberstalking is a big deal on the left, as it should be. And robbery and contempt of court? Come on, this is not normal behavior for a person. We have called on people to resign office for less than this. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/176 "2021-01-11T22:08:25Z")
Someone just might want to read up on the genetic fallacy . . . 'cause they’re using it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/177 "2021-01-11T22:13:31Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Wow Dopers. Do you know a lot of people that have had 5 criminal charges against them? I don’t. Yes. I think perhaps you lead a somewhat sheltered life; good for you. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/178 "2021-01-11T22:14:21Z")
“Where there’s smoke…” Ok, campers, time to invest in smoke machines! ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/179 "2021-01-11T22:14:44Z")
[Criminal Case](https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2020/12/09/plea-deal-scrapped-lawyer-withdraws-rebekah-jones-criminal-case/6502430002/) As I thought, the charges seem to have been dropped because she had a plea deal, which is normal. It seems the plea deal was pulled before the raid on her home. Also, though I can’t verify it, some sites say the person she stalked was a student of hers. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/180 "2021-01-11T22:17:24Z")
I grew up in a shitty part of NY and still live in NY, so no nothing special. I just don’t surround myself with people that commit crimes. Not that hard for most people, you should try it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-agents-raid-home-of-fired-public-health-agent-who-refused-to-manipulate-covid-data/927523/181 "2021-01-11T22:18:25Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I do get the sense we may be missing some context (NOT justification). Believe me, I’m not victim-blaming here. Merely pointing out the possibility that, as much as we would like our heroes to be flawless creatures, unmistakably wronged without the slightest hint of nuance, the real world rarely delivers such perfection. Maybe she was a self-indulgent, argumentative, arrogant person who didn’t care if she gave her bosses a headache, and didn’t think the rules applied to her. I think @CairoCarol was a bit prescient here. Again, not saying “SHE’S GUILTY!!!” but allowing for the possibility that she brought this trouble on herself not because she stood up for what’s right, but because she’s the kind of person that causes trouble. That doesn’t minimize how screwed up the Florida law is, or how heavy-handed the search was, not at all. But really, there doesn’t seem to be any willingness to accept the possibility that she was at least partially in the wrong here. [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=8) [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=10)