Rebekah Jones

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13-Year-Old Son of Florida's COVID Whistleblower Arrested

She says it's retaliation; police say he threatened to shoot up a school

(Newser) - The 13-year-old son of Rebekah Jones, the Florida data scientist fired and allegedly harassed after she alleged the state was manipulating its COVID data and posted what she said were the state's "real" COVID numbers , has been arrested. Jones tweeted Wednesday, "My family is not safe. My...

Florida COVID Data Whistleblower Turning Herself In

It's not clear what charge Rebekah Jones faces

(Newser) - Rebekah Jones, the Florida data scientist who was fired , then had her home raided , after she claimed the state was manipulating its COVID numbers, said she would turn herself in to authorities on Sunday night. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a warrant for Jones' arrest, and the former...

She Released Video of Raid on Her Home. Now, the Cops' Video

Police bodycam footage released after fired Fla. data scientist Rebekah Jones put up her own online

(Newser) - Police bodycam video taken of the Monday raid at fired data scientist Rebekah Jones' home was released Thursday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, with the agency saying it did so after its agents were "vilified" following Jones posting her own footage . Per NBC News , the police video...

Florida Takes Flak Over Controversial Home Raid

Lawyer resigns over raid on residence of data scientist

(Newser) - Florida is facing backlash over its raid of a data scientist's home . In the biggest public criticism, a Republican lawyer appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to nominate judges resigned in protest, reports the Washington Post . The raid on the home of Rebekah Jones made no legal sense, Ron...

Home of Fired Florida Data Scientist Raided by Cops

Rebekah Jones had created her own COVID-19 tracking dashboard

(Newser) - The home of the Florida data scientist who created her own coronavirus tracking dashboard after, she says, the state fired her for refusing to manipulate data on its own site, was raided by state agents Monday. "At 8:30 am this morning, state police came into my house and...

Fired Scientist Posts the 'Real' Virus Numbers

Rebekah Jones says the Florida Dept. of Health pressured her to manipulate numbers

(Newser) - You might call them dueling dashboards. A Florida data scientist who got fired for insubordination has set up a dashboard tallying the state's coronavirus numbers—which eclipse the official count, the Washington Post reports. "I wanted to build an application that delivered data and helped people get tested...

Controversy Over Florida's COVID Site Just Got Worse

Scientist says she was fired for refusing to change data to 'drum up support' for reopening

(Newser) - Florida's state government has a growing controversy on its hands over an online "dashboard" used to track COVID-19 data. The scientist who created the widely praised tool tells Florida Today that she was fired for refusing to "manually change data to drum up support for the plan...

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