Rebekah Jones, the Health Department whistleblower who called out Florida’s COVID-19 data, will appear on Tuesday’s primary ballot after a state appeals court reversed a lower court ruling that kicked her off. Last week, Leon County Circuit Court ruled against Jones, saying she 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 which they seek a nomination for at least 365 days before the qualifying deadline, which was in June. The judge agreed Jones had not registered for a full 365 days before qualifying in June. She appealed the decision, with Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeal ruling 3-0 in her favor on Monday. Jones became a national story after she called out the state’s COVID-19 data, alleging the numbers 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. 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 any where and in November, we’re going to beat Matt Gaetz.” Jones pleaded with residents to vote and thanked her supporters who “believed in us and fought for...
Welcome to Reality Check, NewsGuard’s nonpartisan newsletter that tracks the false claims and conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them. Please support us by becoming a premi...