A.G. Gancarski
In comments in Tampa on Friday, Florida’s Governor attacked a local reporter for asking about a state police “raid” on a dispatched data scientist earlier this week, saying it was not a raid but routine.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) agents acted on a search warrant at Rebekah Jones’ home after the State Emergency Response Team’s text system was hacked last month. Jones’ hardware and tech were seized, though she denied involvement in last month’s hack.
A fired up Gov. Ron DeSantis was in high dudgeon when asked about the FDLE‘s seizure of electronics this week from Jones, the former state Department of Health employee turned whistleblower.
“Excuse me, I’m not going to let you get away with it,” DeSantis said after a roundtable spotlighting mental health efforts for first responders. “These people did their jobs. They’ve been smeared as the Gestapo for doing their jobs.”
“They did a search warrant. Why did they do a search warrant on her house,” the first-term Republican added, “because her IP address was linked to the felony.”
“They went, they followed protocol,” DeSantis said, noting supporting video from the Tallahassee Police Department “showing that they were very respectful.”
“She was not cooperative,” the Governor critiqued. “It was not a raid. It was serving valid process in accordance with the laws and the Constitution of the United States and the state of Florida. They did it with integrity. They did it with honor.”
The Governor, not for the first time in his political career, offered some counsel to the media.
“To say it’s a raid is disinformation,” DeSantis said, before yelling “excuse me” to ward off an interruption.
“Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me,” DeSantis commanded. “You guys need to look at facts and stop trying to feed narratives. I understand why you do it, but it’s not supported by facts. You should be better than that.”
The Governor’s exchange with the reporter was a followup from previous questioning, in which DeSantis attacked Jones’ character and gave the state’s case for her employment termination.
“This individual became known because she alleged a conspiracy theory at the Department of Health,” DeSantis said, one that’s “unfounded and unproven.”
“She was fired because she wasn’t doing a good job,” DeSantis said “You’d think that’d be the end of it; obviously, she has issues.”
At least one legislative leader came to the Governor’s defense.
House Speaker Chris Sprowls, on hand for the event, likewise agreed on Twitter that it was not a raid.
“Calling this a raid is ridiculous and inaccurate. Raids don’t start with the police calling first. They don’t knock on your door. They don’t wait around for you to answer. This is exactly why the public has trust issues w/ the press,” Sprowls tweeted Friday.
7 comments
S B ANTHONY
December 11, 2020 at 12:21 pm
The problem is that we can’t believe anything that Ron DeSantis says because, like his
Dear Leader Trump, he lies constantly.
More importantly, what he trying to cover up by storming, seizing and confiscating the
electronics of a whistleblower.
Ocean Joe
December 11, 2020 at 2:29 pm
High dudgeon! Mr. G nailed it.
BTW, was the one guy wearing a vest bomb, and why did the other guy have a sledge hammer?
Palmer Tom
December 11, 2020 at 4:25 pm
Let’s see what the facts are, but there something about having 10 armed police officers outside your door first thing in the morning that can seem intimidating. It wasn’t a social call.
Frankie M.
December 11, 2020 at 7:12 pm
Guns drawn is standard operating procedure for serving a search warrant on a known whistleblower? Agree or disagree but a picture or video in this case is worth a thousand words. If it was me & my family those LEOs would still be waiting at the door.
Sonja Fitch
December 12, 2020 at 5:32 am
Duffus Desantis has to Resign ! Duffus Desantis is brainwashed and braindead in his obsession to be the hero for goptrump death cult leader Trump! Losers!
Palmer Tom
December 12, 2020 at 8:45 am
One of them did have a sledge hammer.
Chipper
December 12, 2020 at 9:39 am
Deathdesantis has told trump story. On this virus its always lies after lies. So how can we beleive hes telling thurth now. If it looks like a duck (guns drawn and yelling get out of the hpuse) and quacks like(and yelling to her husband to get out and the kids too) must be a duck! Deathdeasntis must be should be ashamed of himself for not curbing this deadly virus by mandating a statewide mask order! our elderly citizens shouldnt have died because of his reckless handling of this virus.
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