Armed men ransack the home of an official who claims to have faked COVID-19 data in Florida

Florida police raided the home of the former COVID-19 data scientist, further fueling a feud between the state government and the expert, which accused officials of trying to hide the extent of the pandemic. Writes about it CNN.

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The Florida law enforcement agency raided the home of data analyst Rebecca Jones, who was fired by the state health department in May, on Monday, December 7.

The agency is investigating whether Jones gained access to the state government's messaging system without permission to persuade employees to talk about coronavirus deaths.

Jones said that she had no access to any government messaging system and that she lost access to her government computer accounts after she was fired from her position.

About 10 officers with weapons came to her home in Tallahassee around 08:30, Jones said. A video taken by a camera at her home, which she posted on social media, shows an officer pointing a gun at the stairwell when Jones informed him that her two children were upstairs. Jones said the officer pointed a gun at her 2-year-old daughter, 11-year-old son, and her husband, who she said were in the stairwell.

The officers also "pointed a gun at me" and took away all computers, a telephone and several hard drives and flash drives, Jones said.

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Gretl Plessinger, a law enforcement official, said agents knocked on Jones's door and called her "in an attempt to minimize family concerns." Jones refused to come to the door for 20 minutes and hung up while the Jones family was upstairs when the agents actually entered the house. She did not answer questions about why the officers pulled out their weapons.

“At no time was a weapon pointed at anyone in the home,” department Commissioner Rick Swearingen added.

According to affidavit from a department investigator, an unauthorized person illegally tapped into the state government's emergency management system last month to send a group text message to government officials urging them to talk about the coronavirus crisis.

“It’s time to speak out before 17 more people die,” the message said. - You know this is wrong. You don't have to be a part of this. Be a hero. Speak before it's too late."

Officials tracked a message that was sent on the afternoon of November 10 to approximately 1750 recipients from an IP address associated with Jones' home.

Jones said she did not post the message.

“I’m not a hacker,” Jones said. “The message contains errors, the number of deaths the person used was not even correct.”

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The devices seized by the officers included flash drives, which Jones said contained "evidence that (government officials) lied in January about things like internal reports and CDC notices," as well as "evidence of illegal state activity." ... She said she got access to these reports legally, and some of them were sent to her by others after she left the state government. In her opinion, the raid was organized by Governor Ron DeSantis, whom she publicly accuses of incorrectly responding to the pandemic.

“This is what happens when you challenge powerful and corrupt people,” Jones said. “If he thinks this will silence me, he is mistaken.”

DeSantis spokesman Fred Piccolo told CNN that "the governor's office was not involved knew nothing about this investigation." He added that the law enforcement department began investigating the report before anyone knew of Jones's alleged involvement. The Department of Health has sent a request for comment to law enforcement.

Jones, who helped create the state's online coronavirus dashboard, was fired in May after she refused to falsify numbers and minimize the outbreak. She has publicly stated that the department head asked her to manipulate the data to give the impression that Florida was closer to meeting its reopening goals than it actually was.

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In May, the State Health Department said Jones had been fired for insubordination, making "unilateral decisions to change the Department's COVID-19 control panel without the involvement or approval of the epidemiological team or its leaders."

DeSantis said removing Jones from office was not a problem.

In July, Jones filed a complaint with the department asking to reinstate her to pay her arrears. She also launched her own online Florida Coronavirus Dashboard.

Jones was charged with stalking back in 2019 after posting candid photos of her ex-boyfriend online, and the case is still under investigation.

When DeSantis discussed Jones' sacking in May, he referred to the alleged harassment case, saying that "she should have been fired long before that."

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