Former Florida DOH analyst Rebekah Jones turns herself in

Tallahassee, Fla. — In what she calls “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life”, former Florida Health Department analyst Rebekah Jones has said goodbye to her family and has been arrested after turning herself in to authorities in Leon County Sunday night.

Jones claims she was fired from her job last year because of how critical she was of how the state reported the data on COVID-19. On December 7, state investigators raided her home after the FDLE received a complaint that someone illegally accessed ReadyOp, which is the state emergency alert messaging system. Authorities say evidence from a search warrant issued on December 7th shows that she illegally accessed the system and sent out a message to roughly 1,750 people, as well as downloaded confidential FDOH data and kept it on her devices.

According to the FDLE, Jones is charged with one count of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, networks and electronic devices. The last post on her Twitter says “Censored by the state of Florida until further notice. #LetHerSpeak.”

The Tallahassee Democrat reports that after her court appearance on Monday, she was released on a $2,500 bond.

Cox Media Group