History of Rebekah Jones in Timeline

Rebekah Jones is an American geographer and data scientist known for her controversial COVID-19 activism in Florida. She gained recognition after accusing the Florida Department of Health and Governor Ron DeSantis of manipulating COVID-19 data, leading to her firing and a whistleblower complaint. While some lauded her as a whistleblower, others, including public officials and media outlets, have labeled her a conspiracy theorist following investigations into her claims.

July 25, 1989: Birth of Rebekah Jones

Rebekah Jones was born on July 25, 1989. This event marks the beginning of her life.

2005: Hurricane Katrina Impacts Jones' Education

Rebekah Jones missed months of school in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina while attending Stone High School.

2007: Jones Graduates High School

Rebekah Jones graduated from Chestnut Ridge Senior High School in Bedford, Pennsylvania in 2007 after relocating to live with her grandparents.

2012: Jones Earns Dual Degrees from Syracuse University

Rebekah Jones graduated cum laude from Syracuse University in 2012, earning dual degrees in geography and journalism from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

2014: Jones Receives Master's Degree from LSU

Rebekah Jones earned her master's degree in geography with a minor in mass communication from Louisiana State University in 2014.

2015: Jones' Research Published in Journal of Coastal Research

In 2015, Rebekah Jones' research, "Quantifying Extreme Weather Event Impacts on the Northern Gulf Coast Using Landsat Imagery," was published in the Journal of Coastal Research.

2016: Battery Charge Against Jones

In 2016, there was a battery charge against Rebekah Jones by the Louisiana State University police.

2016: Jones Arrested in Louisiana

In 2016, while in Louisiana, Rebekah Jones was arrested and charged by the LSU Police Department. The charges included battery on a police officer, remaining after being forbidden, and two counts of resisting arrest. This incident occurred after Jones refused to leave an LSU office following her dismissal from a staff position.

2016: Jones Begins Doctoral Program at FSU

Rebekah Jones started her doctoral dissertation work in the Department of Geography at Florida State University in 2016.

2017: Allegations of Harassment Begin

Starting in 2017, Rebekah Jones was accused of harassing and stalking a former student while she was teaching at FSU.

September 2018: Jones Starts as GIS Analyst at Florida Department of Health

In September 2018, Rebekah Jones began working as a geographic information system (GIS) analyst at the Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee.

2018: Jones Leaves FSU Doctoral Program

Rebekah Jones' time in the doctoral program at Florida State University ended in 2018.

July 2019: Cyberstalking Charges Filed

In July 2019, Rebekah Jones faced charges of stalking, cyberstalking, and sexual cyberharassment. The accusations involved publishing explicit content and details of sexual encounters with the victim on social media.

November 2019: Jones Promoted to Manager Role at Florida Department of Health

Rebekah Jones was promoted to a manager role within GIS at the Florida Department of Health in November 2019, where she handled analysis and tracking of environmental health data and health services.

2019: Cyberstalking Charge Against Jones

In 2019, a cyberstalking charge was filed against Rebekah Jones, involving a former Florida State University student.

2019: Jones Dismissed from FSU PhD Program

Rebekah Jones was dismissed from the PhD program at Florida State University in 2019 due to misconduct allegations related to her teaching position.

March 2020: Jones Creates Florida's COVID-19 Dashboard

Rebekah Jones created the Florida Department of Health's COVID-19 dashboard using Esri's ArcGIS software in March 2020 and managed the team for two months.

May 2020: Jones Fired from Florida Department of Health

Rebekah Jones was fired from her position at the Florida Department of Health in May 2020. This event would later become central to her lawsuit filed in March 2023, in which she alleged wrongful termination and retaliation for whistleblowing.

July 2020: Jones Files Whistleblower Complaint

Rebekah Jones filed a formal complaint in July 2020 alleging wrongful termination and misconduct by officials from the Florida Department of Health.

August 2020: Twitter Attacks and Defamation Allegations

In August 2020, Rebekah Jones used Twitter to attack Jon Taylor, a PhD candidate at Florida Atlantic University, who created a COVID-19 tracker. Jones accused Taylor of being a "quack" and a "fraud," escalating to allegations of sexual harassment against him and his advisor, which she later deleted and denied.

November 10, 2020: Jones' Unauthorized Use of State's Emergency Alert System

On November 10, 2020, Rebekah Jones used the state's emergency alert system without authorization.

December 7, 2020: FDLE Executes Search Warrant at Jones' Residence

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) executed a search warrant at Rebekah Jones' residence on December 7, 2020. The FDLE suspected her of unauthorized access to Florida Department of Health computer systems to send an unauthorized message urging action to prevent further deaths from COVID-19. Jones denied sending the message, and while the FDLE defended the search as necessary due to her prior battery charge against a police officer, the incident, widely publicized through Jones' social media posts, sparked controversy. Her online activity following the event helped raise a significant amount of money for her legal defense through crowdfunding.

December 2020: Police Search Jones' Home

In December 2020, state police searched Rebekah Jones' home under a warrant. This event was related to a 2016 battery charge against her and her unauthorized use of the state's emergency alert system.

December 2020: Controversial Twitter Presence

By December 2020, Rebekah Jones had amassed a substantial following on Twitter, exceeding 340,000 followers. However, her online presence was marked by controversy, including making unsubstantiated claims about COVID-19, Governor DeSantis, and other individuals and engaging in public disputes with officials and academics.

December 20, 2020: Lawsuit Against FDLE

On December 20, 2020, Rebekah Jones filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Commissioner Rick Swearingen, alleging a "sham" search warrant as retaliation. The lawsuit claimed an agent grabbed her without cause, violated her free speech rights, and unlawfully seized her belongings.

2020: Jones Launches Independent COVID-19 Dashboard

Following her dismissal, Rebekah Jones created "Florida COVID Action," an independent platform for tracking COVID-19 data in Florida. Her initiative garnered recognition, including an award from Forbes and acknowledgment by Fortune. However, a Florida spokesperson criticized the dashboard for methodological flaws, including the inclusion of antibody tests in virus test counts and the counting of non-resident deaths. During the same year, Jones secured collaboration between Florida COVID Action and FinMango, a non-profit, for a national project called "The COVID Monitor." This project, co-founded by Oscar Wahltinez, a FinMango board member affiliated with Google, aimed to monitor COVID-19's spread in schools using open data and Google tools. Despite this, Jones repeatedly misrepresented the collaboration as a direct partnership with Google, prompting objections from the company.

2020: Recognition and Awards

In 2020, Rebekah Jones was recognized for her work on COVID-19 data. She was included in Fortune magazine's '40 Under 40 in Healthcare' for founding Florida COVID Action, named Forbes's '2020 Technology Person of the Year' for her alternative Florida COVID-19 tracking dashboards, and received Constantine Cannon's '2020 Whistleblower of the Year' award.

January 18, 2021: Jones Surrenders to Authorities

Rebekah Jones turned herself in to authorities on January 18, 2021, two days after the FDLE issued an arrest warrant. The warrant stemmed from probable cause that she illegally accessed the Florida Department of Health's computer system, sent unauthorized messages, and downloaded confidential information of over 20,000 state employees.

February 6, 2021: Lawsuit Dropped

On February 6, 2021, court records show that Rebekah Jones dropped the lawsuit against the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. However, the status of her confiscated property remains unresolved.

May 2021: Jones Granted Whistleblower Protections

In May 2021, while an investigation into her claims was ongoing, the Florida Office of Inspector General granted Rebekah Jones formal whistleblower protections.

May 2021: Jones Declines Congressional Run

Rebekah Jones announced in May 2021 that she would not be running for Congress in either Maryland, her current state of residence at the time, or Florida. She cited safety concerns in Florida and a lack of preparation for a campaign in Maryland as reasons for her decision.

June 2021: Twitter Suspension

Rebekah Jones was suspended from Twitter in June 2021 for violating the platform's rules on spam and platform manipulation. A spokesperson for Governor DeSantis's office deemed the suspension "long overdue," accusing Jones of spreading "defamatory conspiracy theories."

July 2021: Jones Launches Congressional Campaign

Rebekah Jones launched her campaign for Florida's first congressional district in July 2021. Initially filing as an independent with the FEC, she later switched to running as a Democrat due to changes in voting and election laws prior to her candidacy announcement.

2021: Jones Suspended from Twitter

Rebekah Jones was suspended from Twitter in 2021 for platform manipulation but was later reinstated.

May 2022: Dismissal of Jones' Whistleblower Complaint

In May 2022, Florida's Office of Inspector General dismissed Jones' 2020 whistleblower complaint, which she filed after being fired, stating her allegations were unsubstantiated and unfounded.

May 2022: Florida OIG Finds Jones' Claims Unsubstantiated

The Florida Office of Inspector General released a report in May 2022 stating that Rebekah Jones' claims of wrongdoing were unsubstantiated due to insufficient evidence. The report cleared the officials she accused and determined that the instruction to restrict access to raw data did not violate any regulations. Following the report, several news outlets and officials questioned Jones' credibility, labeling her with terms like "fraud," "grifter," and "conspiracy theorist."

July 15, 2022: Lawsuit Filed Against Jones' Candidacy

Rebekah Jones faced a lawsuit filed by her primary opponent, Margaret "Peggy" Schiller, and a Northwest Florida resident on July 15, 2022. The lawsuit alleged that Jones violated a state law requiring candidates to be a member of a political party for a full year before qualifying to run for that party's nomination. Seeking an injunction to remove her from the ballot, the lawsuit led to her removal on August 5 due to her failure to meet party registration requirements.

August 22, 2022: Court of Appeals Reinstates Jones' Candidacy

On August 22, 2022, the 1st District Court of Appeals overturned the lower court's ruling, allowing Rebekah Jones to remain on the ballot as a valid candidate in the upcoming election.

August 23, 2022: Jones Wins Democratic Primary

Rebekah Jones secured victory in the Democratic primary election on August 23, 2022, earning her the opportunity to challenge Matt Gaetz in the November general election.

October 26, 2022: Jones Posts Altered Document on Social Media

Rebekah Jones shared a modified image of a letter from the Florida Commission on Human Relations on her Instagram account on October 26, 2022. The altered document contained false statements supporting her whistleblower claims. Although she later removed the post, she insisted that the version provided to journalist Marc Caputo by the FCHR was the actual forgery. However, the Pensacola News Journal confirmed the authenticity of their unmodified digital copy.

November 8, 2022: Jones Loses General Election

Rebekah Jones lost the general election for Florida's first congressional district to Matt Gaetz on November 8, 2022.

November 2022: Jones Hints at Possible Congressional Run

A day following her suspension from Twitter in June, Rebekah Jones hinted at a potential run against incumbent Matt Gaetz in the 2022 U.S. House elections. However, in a subsequent post, she downplayed the announcement, stating that "November 2022 is a long ways away," suggesting a possible change of heart depending on the emergence of other Republican or Democratic challengers.

December 8, 2022: Jones Enters Deferred Prosecution Agreement

Rebekah Jones entered a deferred prosecution agreement on December 8, 2022, effectively avoiding trial. As part of the agreement, she had to accept guilt, pay a $20,000 fine to the FDLE, perform community service, and attend monthly mental health appointments.

December 2022: Jones Admits Guilt to Unauthorized System Use

Rebekah Jones admitted guilt in December 2022 to the unauthorized use of the state's emergency alert system on November 10, 2020.

2022: Jones Defeated in Congressional Election

Rebekah Jones ran as a Democratic candidate in Florida's 1st congressional district but lost to Matt Gaetz in the 2022 U.S. House of Representatives elections.

March 2023: Jones Sues Florida Department of Health

In March 2023, Rebekah Jones initiated a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Health, the state Surgeon General, and a former deputy secretary. She sought reinstatement, back wages, compensation for emotional distress, and punitive damages, alleging that her May 2020 firing violated her due process and free speech rights as retaliation for her whistleblowing.

April 2023: Controversial Tweets and GoFundMe Campaign

In April 2023, Rebekah Jones posted a tweet, viewed millions of times, alleging that Governor DeSantis had kidnapped her son, even though she had voluntarily handed him over to police following a valid arrest warrant. Using these claims, she raised at least $7,000 on GoFundMe.

June 7, 2023: Plea Deal in Cyberstalking Case

On June 7, 2023, Rebekah Jones entered a no-contest plea for a 2019 misdemeanor cyberstalking charge. This charge stemmed from accusations of harassment and stalking of a former student during her time as a teacher at FSU.

October 2023: Florida Settles COVID-19 Data Lawsuit

The state of Florida, in October 2023, settled a public records lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed by Carlos Guillermo Smith and the Florida Center for Government Accountability, pertained to the state's withholding of COVID-19 data from the public. While this lawsuit substantiated claims about the governor's office's interference with the health department and misleading the public about vaccination data, these claims were not part of Rebekah Jones' initial whistleblower complaint.

December 2023: Son's Plea Deal

In December 2023, Rebekah Jones's son pled no contest to charges of threatening a mass shooting. He was given probation until his 19th birthday, contingent upon meeting specific requirements, including community service.