Body Cam Footage Released In Raid On FL Data Scientist's Home

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Because it’s “been vilified” since the raid on Rebekah Jones’ Tallahassee home on Monday, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement released body camera footage recorded outside the home that day, according to an agency news release.

The FDLE has decided to release the footage “because of inaccurate and incomplete statements given by certain individuals,” the news release said.

Jones, a former Department of Health data scientist, helped build the state’s coronavirus dashboard. She was fired from the DOH in May for what Gov. Ron DeSantis described as insubordination.

Jones has said she was fired for not manipulating data to support the state's reopening, though. She went on to create her own dashboard, Florida COVID Action.

In Monday’s raid, FDLE agents seized her cell phone, computer and hard drives. According to a warrant, an unauthorized message compelling DOH employees to speak out was sent from the state's emergency management account on Nov. 10. It was traced back to an IP address at Jones' home, USA Today reported. She has denied sending the message.

FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said that he’s “proud of the way these FDLE agents performed. I can only hope those same individuals who criticized these public safety heroes will now apologize and condemn the actions of Ms. Jones. The media should also demand Ms. Jones release the entirety of the video she recorded while agents were present in her home.”

He said, “This video demonstrates that FDLE agents exercised extreme patience. Search warrants are one of the most dangerous events a law enforcement officer will engage in and many officers are killed each year during the execution of search warrants. No search warrant is routine or without potential officer safety issues regardless of the underlying crime. Agents afforded Ms. Jones ample time to come to the door and resolve this matter in a civil and professional manner. As this video will demonstrate, any risk or danger to Ms. Jones or her family was the result of her actions.

In a tweet, Jones said, “Bodycam footage released by police shows they waited about 13 minutes outside while I got dressed and were ready to break my door down with a sledgehammer. At (minute)13:48, an officer is shown pointing a gun at my face. They thought this would... help them?”

She also tweeted that the video shows her coming out with her arms up and cooperating with FDLE agents. It also shows her husband coming downstairs with their 2-year-old in his arms.

“My video from inside showed them pointing the guns right at them,” Jones tweeted. “This is ‘restraint?’ Really???”

FDLE shared two videos from Monday morning. Portions of it were redacted in accordance with various state and federal statutes. Jones shared her video on Twitter Monday.

In one of the videos released by the FDLE Thursday, an agent said Jones' phone number aloud. This number was not redacted in the video provided and Jones tweeted Friday that she changed her cell phone number because it was released to the public.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said earlier in the week that he was unaware of any investigation into Jones, also had a heated moment with a reporter on Friday, WPTV reported.

When asked if he knew about the raid on Jones’ home, DeSantis said, "It's not a raid! I'm not gonna let you get away with it. These people did their jobs. They've been smeared as the Gestapo for doing their jobs."

The governor also said an IP address connected to Jones’ home was used to illegally access the state’s emergency alert system, reports said.

"What were they supposed to do? Just ignore it? Of course not," DeSantis said. "It was not a raid. They were 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. And to say it was a raid is disinformation."