Attorneys offer comment, insight into Rebekah Jones deal

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Rebekah Jones - whose claims of a COVID data coverup in Florida made national headlines - will ultimately have felony charges against her dropped under a deferred prosecution deal signed last week.

Jones was scheduled to stand trial on January 23rd on cybercrime charges after FDLE accused her of illegally accessing the state computer system after she was fired from the Florida Department of Health.

“I am happy that we got this done,” Rebekah Jones’ attorney Thomas Findley said Tuesday. “The end result should be a dismissal of the case.”

The deferred prosecution deal was signed on December 7th, two years to the day after an FDLE raid of Jones’ home.

Jones has to pay $20,000 to cover investigative fees, do 150 hours of community service and admit guilt as part of the deal.

“I think it’s important for her to take responsibility for her actions because, as we know, she does a lot of public announcements about how she is not guilty, which I understand is still going on,” prosecutor Georgia Cappleman said.

The deferred prosecution deal says if Jones complies with all of its conditions, charges against her will be dismissed within two years.

Jones shared her comments on the deal in a December 8th blog post called “Rebekah’s Newsletter.”

“On paper, the last two years of political persecution through threat of criminal prosecution never happened. I will move on with life, having no criminal record, having never pled guilty or no contest to any crime in any state at any point in my life. But nothing can right the wrongs my family and I have lived through these past few years,” Jones wrote.

The blog ends with a request for donations to help pay the $20,000 “police fee.”

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