Florida agents raid home of ousted COVID-19 data curator

Florida authorities investigating an alleged hack into the state’s emergency response system raided the home Monday of a woman fired earlier this year from her job as a COVID-19 data curator.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said that Rebekah Jones, who was fired for unauthorized public comments about the data in May, has been under investigation since early November when someone illegally accessed the state’s emergency alert health system.

Watch: ‘It’s just wicked’: Remains missing after caskets broken into during ‘ritualistic activity’ at Lake County cemetery, deputies say

Jones was fired from her post in May after she raised questions about Florida’s COVID-19 data. She had been reprimanded several times and was ultimately fired for violating Health Department policy by making public remarks about the information, state records show.

Since her firing, she has lit up social media with posts criticizing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his state agencies. For months, she has tried to promote herself as a victim who was fired for telling the truth, although there is no evidence that supports her claims.

Early in the pandemic, Jones wrote blog posts and reached out to media outlets and researchers sowing doubt about the credibility of the data now that she is no longer in that role. She said Health Department managers urged her to manipulate information to paint a rosier picture and that she pushed back. The data was crucial as the governor was trying to make highly controversial decisions on whether to reopen Florida’s economy.

State health officials strenuously deny any issue with the information’s accuracy. The office of Gov. Ron DeSantis declined comment Monday night, but the Republican governor has previously said Jones had a pattern of “insubordination” and should have been fired sooner.

Agents served the search warrant on her Tallahassee home after receiving a complaint from the Department of Health regarding unauthorized access to its emergency alert system, according to a statement from FDLE.

“Agents believe someone at the residence on Centerville Court illegally accessed the system,” spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said in a statement.

Watch: Orange County churches making changes to Christmas services due to COVID-19

According to a search warrant, someone at the home sent the following message to more than 17,000 people:

“It’s time to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead. You know this is wrong. You don’t have to be part of this. Be a hero. Speak out before it’s too late.”

Jones said she did not send the message.

Jones initially refused to answer the door for 20 minutes and hung up when agents called her, according to FDLE.

According to video footage Jones posted of the incident, multiple officers who entered Jones’ home had their guns drawn. One pointed his gun up the stairs as authorities urged Jones to call her husband and children downstairs. The officer then lowered his weapon after Jones yelled, “Do not point that gun at my children!”

“They pointed a gun in my face. They pointed guns at my kids,” Jones later tweeted.

It is unclear whether authorities pointed weapons at anyone in Jones’ home.

Watch: Nearly 200 arrests made, 1,300 guns confiscated as Orange County, Orlando work to crack down on gang violence

“This is what happens to scientists who do their job honestly,” Jones tweeted on Monday.

Jones said she believes this was a personal attack from state leaders.

“DeSantis need to worry less about what I’m writing about and more about the people who are sick and dying in his state. And doing this to me will not stop me from reporting the data,” she said.

FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen released this statement:

“Our investigation began last month following a complaint by Florida Department of Health that a person illegally hacked into their emergency alert system. As part of our investigation, FDLE agents served a search warrant this morning at the Centerville Court residence where Ms. Jones lives after determining the home was the location that the unauthorized message was sent from.

Agents knocked and called Ms. Jones both announcing the search warrant and encouraging her to cooperate. Ms. Jones refused to come to the door for 20 minutes and hung-up on agents.

After several attempts, Ms. Jones allowed agents inside. Agents entered the home in accordance with normal protocols and seized several devices that will be forensically analyzed. At no time were weapons pointed at anyone in the home. Any evidence will be referred to the State Attorney for prosecution as appropriate.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group