Rebekah Jones, the Florida Health Department whistleblower who called out the state’s data during an early peak of the pandemic, will appear on Tuesday’s primary ballot after a state appeals court reversed a ruling that kicked her off. Last week, Leon County Circuit Court said Jones did not meet the requirements to run as a candidate in the Democratic primary for Florida’s 1st Congressional District because she did not meet the standard requirement for party registration. Florida law states a candidate must be a registered voter of the party that they seek a nomination for at least 365 days before the qualifying deadline, which was in June. Jones appealed the decision, and Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeal ruled 3-0 in her favor. Jones became a national story after she called claimed COVID-19 data had been fudged. She was subsequently fired and arrested for allegedly hacking into the Health Department’s system, downloading confidential data and sending a text message to residents urging them to “speak up.” She denies the allegations. A state investigator’s report released in May and obtained by NBC News disputed Jones’ claims and concluded that she wasn’t fired out of revenge. Jones is facing a felony charge after authorities said she was unauthorized to access the department’s computer system on Nov. 10, 2020, when she sent a text message to 1,750 people, downloaded confidential data, and subsequently saved it. In a TikTok video after the decision, Jones, who was protesting against Matt Gaetz at Fort Walton Beach, said, “we’re going to win this race, we’re not going anywhere and in November, we’re going to beat Matt Gaetz.”
