DeSantis appointee resigns in protest of "unconscionable" raid on COVID whistleblower
DeSantis appointee resigns in protest of “unconscionable” raid on COVID whistleblower
The judge who approved the warrant was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just weeks before the raid
By IGOR DERYSH at Salon
DECEMBER 9, 2020 3:37PM (UTC)
https://www.salon.com/2020/12/09/desantis-appointee-resigns-in-protest-of-unconscionable-raid-on-covid-whistleblower/
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ARepublican official in Florida resigned on Tuesday in protest of Gov. Ron DeSantis' handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the police raid on whistleblower Rebekah Jones, a Florida data scientist who accused the state of manipulating coronavirus data.
Ron Filipkowski, a lifelong Republican appointed by DeSantis to the 12th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission, which selects judges, resigned from the panel on Tuesday after reviewing the search warrant used to seize electronic devices from Jones. Armed police raided Jones' home on Monday in an investigation of an unauthorized message sent over the Florida Department of Health emergency management system. Jones helped build the state's coronavirus data dashboard before she was fired for insubordination in May. She claimed she was fired for refusing to manipulate data to cast the state's infections in a more favorable light and alleged that DeSantis ordered the raid in retaliation, which his office denied.
Filipkowski, a former state and federal prosecutor, said in his resignation letter that he was "increasingly alarmed" by DeSantis' "reckless and irresponsible" pandemic response but the raid on Jones was "unconscionable."
Filipowski, a Marine veteran, said that even if Jones was behind the message he would "still call her a hero." He added that he found the governor's office claim that DeSantis was unaware of the raid "not credible."
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