Former Department of Health data analyst turned whistleblower Rebekah
Jones reached an agreement with state prosecutors to dismiss the criminal
hacking charges against her. As a condition of the dismissal, Jones
admitted she was guilty.

Amid suspicions that Jones illegally accessed the Florida Department of
Health System to send a message on the agency�s internal platform, police
searched her home in December 2020. A subsequent search of her electronics
suggested that she sent a message to 1,750 people, downloaded confidential
data, and saved it to her devices, according to the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement.

Jones was later charged with an offense against users of computers,
computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices, a third-degree
felony. Jones officially admitted guilt as part of the Dec. 8 agreement.

This saga began in May 2020 when Jones accused Gov. Ron DeSantis�
administration of manipulating COVID-19 data. After raising concerns about
the lack of transparency within the agency, she said her responsibilities
and duties were taken away, citing the loss of her position of overseeing
the COVID-19 dashboard.

The state suspected her of gaining �unauthorized access� to an employee
messaging platform to send a group text by using her old log-in
credentials. The state alleged that she instructed her former employees to
�be a hero� and �speak up� against COVID-19 in a Nov. 10 message.

Jones denied sending the email at the time.

Attention on Jones heightened in December 2020 when the Florida Department
of Law Enforcement raided her Tallahassee home to execute a search warrant
of her computer equipment.

Agents can be seen entering her home with guns drawn in a recording
captured by a camera on Jones� bookshelf.

FDLE released about 30 minutes of police body-camera footage showing
portions of the raid after Jones claimed on Twitter that the agents
�pointed a gun in my face. They pointed guns at my kids.�

FDLE denied that agents pointed their guns at anyone when they executed
the search warrant.

Shortly thereafter, in January 2021, the state issued an arrest warrant
for Jones, charging her with one count of offenses against users of
computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices.

On December 8, 2022, Jones announced, via the social media platform
substack, that the state attorney was dismissing the charges against her,
contingent, in part, on her $20,000 payment to police for �investigative
costs.�

While detailing the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement, she
lamented that she had been subjected to an unfair justice system with
�unchecked power to intimidate people into silence and compliance.� She
took aim at DeSantis, referring to his supporters as �thugs� and claimed
that his actions were an attack on speech, science, and freedom.

Court documents show that prosecution against Jones will be deferred for
24 months, conditioned on her fulfillment of its terms. Among these
obligations include seeing a licensed mental health professional of the
state�s choosing, admitting her guilt of the offense charged, completing
150 hours of community service at a minimum rate of 13 hours per week, and
working regularly at a lawful occupation.

Any violation of these conditions affords the state attorney the right to
revoke or modify the conditions of Jones� deferred prosecution.

https://news.yahoo.com/charges-against-former-state-health-181439873.html