Janelle Irwin Taylor
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist weighed in Tuesday on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) raid on Rebekah Jones’ home late Monday in which armed officers entered her home and seized her phone and other technology.
“The guns drawn FDLE raid on the home of Rebekah Jones was shocking, over-the-top, and demands a full explanation,” Crist said.
“Unless we get more information showing otherwise, it looks like an act of retaliation or an attempt to silence Ms. Jones for her critiques of the state’s COVID-19 response. The people’s trust in their state government is critical, and these actions, without a fuller understanding, are very damaging.”
FDLE officials confirmed agents acted on a search warrant at Jones’ home after the State Emergency Response Team’s text system was hacked last month. Jones confirmed on Twitter her “hardware and tech” were seized, though she denied involvement in last month’s hack.
She also posted video of the raid, in which FDLE officers drew their guns while entering Jones’ home.
Jones is the former Department of Health data manager who was fired earlier this year for insubordination, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration.
Jones, however, claims she was fired for refusing to alter COVID-19 data. Jones has sought to frame herself as a whistleblower since her firing, appealing to Democrats and others who are skeptical of the state’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Jones claims the raid was an act of retaliation for her continued activism on the issue.
The Governor’s office has denied any involvement in the FDLE operation, with a spokesperson saying DeSantis ” had no involvement, no knowledge, no nothing, of this investigation.”
And while state officials bear the burden to prove Jones’ involvement in the November hack, the FDLE used that incident to explain the operation at Jones’ residence in a Monday statement.
“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,” FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said.
During a late Monday CNN interview, Jones floated an as-yet-unproven theory that the FDLE’s reasoning for the raid was merely a pretext to target Jones for her DOH sources.
“On my phone is every communication I’ve ever had with someone who works at the state who has come to me in confidence and told me things that could get them fired or in trouble like this,” Jones told CNN’s Chris Cuomo.
“I just want to say to all those people right now, if he doesn’t know already, [Gov. DeSantis] will know soon enough that you’ve been talking to me, so be careful.”
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Florida Politics reporter Ryan Nicol contributed to this report.
