Angry governor defends firing of state coronavirus data analyst, citing insubordination and a messy criminal case – By Brittany Wallman (South Florida Sun Sentinel) / May 20 2020
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched an angry attack on a fired Department of Health data manager Wednesday, downplaying her role in operating the state’s online COVID-19 platform and airing her messy legal fight with a former boyfriend — a tangle that includes charges against her for stalking.
He did not comment about emails showing that officials at the health department ordered 30-year-old mapping expert Rebekah Jones to sever public access to raw data on the state’s coronavirus website, except to say that she was using flawed data.
Some data that had been used for critical news coverage about early signs of coronavirus in Florida was removed from the site in early May, but it has since been restored. DeSantis said Jones was a renegade and isn’t a data scientist or epidemiologist.
“She should have been dismissed, long before that” based on her background, he said, which includes an accusation of cyber sexual harassment.
Continue to article: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/fl-ne-fired-coronavirus-data-manager-criminal-cyberstalking-20200520-vncnm3ri2vcmdl6pn6fqomw2wm-story.html
