Charges against Rebekah Jones, former Florida COVID-19 data scientist, to be dismissed in plea deal

LEON COUNTY, Fla. — Former COVID-19 data scientist Rebekah Jones signed a plea deal last week admitting guilt in a pending criminal case. In return, the charges against her will be dropped.

Jones, a former Florida Department of Health employee who created the state's COVID-19 portal, was charged with accessing a state computer system without authorization. As part of the plea deal, Jones said she admitted to having a health department roster on her computer and agreed to pay $20,000 for the cost of a police investigation.

The agreement delays prosecution for two years and includes six conditions, including paying $20,000 to reimburse the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for its investigation costs and admitting guilt.

If Jones meets conditions and is not arrested for another crime during the two-year period, prosecutors will drop the charges without Jones having to enter a guilty plea in the case officially.

Jones was charged in the case after state law enforcement agents searched her home on a warrant in December 2020 amid her controversial firing that made national news.

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Prosecutors alleged Jones accessed a state computer system without authorization and sent a mass text calling on state employees to speak out against Florida's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By that point, Jones had become a well-known critic of Gov. Ron DeSantis and had filed a whistleblower complaint after being fired from the Florida Department of Health five months earlier. Jones said she was fired because she refused to manipulate COVID-19 case data during a moment when states were working to reopen after the first stretches of the pandemic.

A state inspector general report released earlier this year on Jones' whistleblower allegations found no evidence of wrongdoing by the Florida Department of Health.

Jones' complaint with the Florida Human Relations Commission alleging that her firing was retaliation was closed after the commission found "reasonable cause" for her termination.

Jones ran for Congress earlier this year as a Democrat seeking to unseat Rep. Matt Gaetz in the Republican stronghold of Northwest Florida. Gaetz easily won reelection with 68% of the vote.

Over the weekend, Jones took to social media calling reports she admitted guilt false. In a video posted to her YouTube account, she said she had only admitted to having a Department of Health roster on her private computer.

FROM JONES' 2020 FIRING: Florida's scientist was fired for refusing to 'manipulate' COVID-19 data

"There was no guilty plea. There was no plea of any kind because it was a dismissal. The case is being dropped," Jones said in a video published on her YouTube channel on Sunday.

Jones was previously offered a plea deal but turned it down after objecting to the conditions.

Jones said she signed last week's agreement because she plans to go back to school for her Ph.D.

"I'm tired of feeling like I'm suffocating because I've got the state's knee on my back," Jones said. "And at any moment, for any reason, jaywalking or whatever excuse they want to have, they can just re-arrest me and keep me indefinitely. This has gone on for two years."

Other special conditions Jones must meet as part of the agreement include paying a $100 fee to the State Attorney's Office, returning all Florida Department of Health property exclusive of public records, 150 hours of community service at a minimum of 13 hours per week and that she see a licensed mental health professional for a minimum of one hour per week.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Rebekah Jones, former Florida COVID-19 data scientist, signs plea deal