The Ron DeSantis-Rebekah Jones controversy in Florida, explained.
Who is Rebekah Jones, why did the state law enforcement raid her home and what does it have to do with coronavirus data?

The Rundown: Florida is in the national spotlight … again. The Monday morning raid of former Department of Health employee Rebekah Jones by state law enforcement is a strange twist in a months-long controversy that has at times included multiple police agencies, hacking allegations, DeSantis, a whistleblower complaint and state COVID-19 data. Jones’ footage of agents executing a warrant at her Tallahassee home went viral and she later accused DeSantis on CNN of attempting to silence her criticism of his response to the pandemic.

There’s a lot to sort out here. Let’s go back to the beginning.

Who is Rebekah Jones? Until early May, Jones worked as a data analyst in charge of maintaining the state’s popular online COVID-19 dashboard. She said she was reassigned then fired after objecting to an order to remove key data from the website. She accused the department of trying to downplay the outbreak in rural counties ahead of DeSantis’ order to reopen the state. Emails we obtained confirmed some of these details.

The state denied these accusations. But it’s worth noting that around this time, multiple news outlets were asking about missing data and the state has never adequately explained why information was suddenly removed.

DeSantis strikes back. Vice President Mike Pence visited Orlando as this saga unfolded. With Pence by his side and the cameras rolling, DeSantis blew up. He said Jones was fired for insubordination, not retribution. He then dished that Jones was the subject of criminal charges for sexual cyber harassment (which was dropped) and cyberstalking.

After leaving the department, Jones started her own competing COVID-tracking website that included metrics the state didn’t publicize, like hospital bed availability. And she continued to lob accusations that the state was manipulating data (like this), earning her an interview on CNN.