Live data from Hacker News

Experts: Evidence to support search warrant on Rebekah Jones' home flimsy

floridatoday.com

41–50 of 67 posts

Re: Experts: Evidence to support search warrant on Rebekah Jones' home flimsy

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your claims are not supported by the article linked.

If you look at the first article, you will see that it does in fact support the facts I presented: [1] The state epidemiologist asked her supervisor to temporily remove the data: "“Per Dr. Blackmore, disable the ability to export the data to files from the dashboard immediately. We need to ensure that dates (date fields) in all objects match their counterpart on the PDF line list published,”" [2] Rebekah assumed this…

Your facts support the claim of censorship. As noted in the article you cite, the reason the state epidemilogist wanted the data removed was to stop journalists from asking about covid confirmation dates, which were earlier than the state was claiming. Rebekah pushed back with her supervisor, who agreed that the request was censorship. The state (not her supervisor), acting at the behest of the governor, then removed Rebekah the following morning, alleging a "pattern" of insubordination though they could only ever document the 1 instance. (The governor's involvement was confirmed by the governor's press office giving the press release informing the public of her termination.)

Re: Experts: Evidence to support search warrant on Rebekah Jones' home flimsy

#43

How can the state claim the access was unauthorized when it shared password between users and also published it on a document on its website? The former may be irresponsible but is commonly excused but the latter?

If I leave a pie on the windowsill, it is still wrong to take it even if it’s easy. Bad security practices doesn’t mean it is open season for any activity. Being fired and logging back on to work computers is really hard to defend as not knowingly wrong.

This is fine, I will copy your pie instead. No harm done then, right?

Re: Experts: Evidence to support search warrant on Rebekah Jones' home flimsy

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point is why on earth would you send essentially a SWAT team for such a warrant. And no, it's not unsurprising that the data used to back a warrant or prosecution would be falsified. The US system is rife with all kinds of people being railroaded with shaky witness and cops lying about events.

She didn’t let them in for twenty minutes, hung up on the phone and wouldn’t answer the door. That’s how you get officers fired up and concerned for their safety.

> That’s how you get officers fired up and concerned for their safety.

What a sad statement about the US. There is something fundamentally wrong when police has to be so afraid of a person without any violence charges that they bring in the same specialists they use to resolve hostage or active shooter situations.

Re: Experts: Evidence to support search warrant on Rebekah Jones' home flimsy

#45

related discussion from yesterday >> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25362079

Also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25370229

Earlier threads on the story:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25339510

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25349759

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25348695

Re: Experts: Evidence to support search warrant on Rebekah Jones' home flimsy

#46

This is complete BS. The complaint alleges that 1750 messages were posted on an communications system urging employees to blow whistles. Those messages were linked to an IP address which Comcast pointed at Jones’ home. Is that enough for a conviction? No, it’s not hard to establish reasonable doubt with that. But that’s damn well enough for a search warrant to sieze electronics from somebody’s home. Being fired for i…

Is it not possible that a motivated actor covertly sat outside her home to hack her WiFi and maliciously make those posts without her knowledge?

Re: Experts: Evidence to support search warrant on Rebekah Jones' home flimsy

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone? Having not read the court filing that granted the search warrant I know nothing about the information supporting the seizure. I know that she tried to make an emotional appeal on social media, I know that she has been accused of really sketchy behavior with a coworker, and I know that people who read her messaging are going to jump to conclusions about her being wronged with no information besides her being…

Judges rubber stamp warrant requests, and nothing that she is alleged of doing requires cops to show up with body armor and assault rifles.

I mean wearing a bullet proof vest for a search warrant seems a reasonable enough precaution.

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/florida/2020/12/10/video-s...

There's the video, they're all wearing khakis, the officer talking to the woman has a not-so-stylish short sleeved plaid shirt, and one of them has some kind of stick? Not exactly a SWAT raid.

Re: Experts: Evidence to support search warrant on Rebekah Jones' home flimsy

#48
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone? Having not read the court filing that granted the search warrant I know nothing about the information supporting the seizure. I know that she tried to make an emotional appeal on social media, I know that she has been accused of really sketchy behavior with a coworker, and I know that people who read her messaging are going to jump to conclusions about her being wronged with no information besides her being…

Having read the warrant request they: Claim an IP was found by examining logs (no logs shown) Claim they used “investigative procedures” to identify the IP as belonging to Ms Jones. Both seem weak but I don’t know usual practice. Seems odd no actual logs (easily forged) are included. Also odd they don’t just say “Comcast said at time X the IP belonged to her” so unclear what strength of evidence they really had.

That seems reasonable enough. Look at your logs, find an IP that did the unauthorized thing, do a WHOIS, then call the ISP and ask who had that IP at the time.

Is it possible to fabricate all of this evidence? Sure, but finding the lady's IP in order to have it confirmed by Comcast seems pretty sophisticated without a pretty advanced conspiracy. One would assume a lot of that would come out at trial, if the defense could convince a jury of those doubts.

But this is a search warrant, that's all some pretty convoluted fraud of the justice system to smear this woman. Criminals are pretty stupid usually, intimidation would take a lazier form. Keeping with the "criminals are stupid" line, a person with an axe to grind posting on a work network after being fired from their home? That seems about right.

Lots of downvotes are going on around here that make it evident that people only really care about their political alignment and their ideas of justice depend on whether or not a person is on their side. I thought people were generally above that here.

Re: Experts: Evidence to support search warrant on Rebekah Jones' home flimsy

#49
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having read the warrant request they: Claim an IP was found by examining logs (no logs shown) Claim they used “investigative procedures” to identify the IP as belonging to Ms Jones. Both seem weak but I don’t know usual practice. Seems odd no actual logs (easily forged) are included. Also odd they don’t just say “Comcast said at time X the IP belonged to her” so unclear what strength of evidence they really had.

That seems reasonable enough. Look at your logs, find an IP that did the unauthorized thing, do a WHOIS, then call the ISP and ask who had that IP at the time. Is it possible to fabricate all of this evidence? Sure, but finding the lady's IP in order to have it confirmed by Comcast seems pretty sophisticated without a pretty advanced conspiracy. One would assume a lot of that would come out at trial, if the defense c…

>... I thought people were generally above that here.

This place has never, not once, been "above that". What you are astonished at is that the discourse is anti-right wing. Other times when it is pro-right-wing/an-cap/libertarian/anti-POC you don't notice it because that's the baseline for normalcy for the userbase.

Re: Experts: Evidence to support search warrant on Rebekah Jones' home flimsy

#50

This is complete BS. The complaint alleges that 1750 messages were posted on an communications system urging employees to blow whistles. Those messages were linked to an IP address which Comcast pointed at Jones’ home. Is that enough for a conviction? No, it’s not hard to establish reasonable doubt with that. But that’s damn well enough for a search warrant to sieze electronics from somebody’s home. Being fired for i…

Is it not possible that a motivated actor covertly sat outside her home to hack her WiFi and maliciously make those posts without her knowledge?

Sure, it's possible, but in order for that to make sense they would also have to compromise a computer in that house in order to post from so a search warrant could find that.

That's a pretty heavy duty conspiracy, and it would involve some pretty solid red-team skills. I really think it's beyond a dumb-ass politician to orchestrate such a fraud as a hit against a really low key political adversary. How hard do you think it would be to find a hacker capable and willing to do such a thing, and money to fund that?

On one hand you have this pretty advanced conspiracy which would require high level coordination with very skilled people in order to frame someone who barely matters.

On the other you have a woman who was recently arrested and charged with stalking after enduring a year long restraining order... and the question is if there is enough evidence that she logged on to work computers to write inflammatory things to old colleagues.

What's out there is surely enough for a search warrant. You have to believe a lot of advanced conspiracy theories to say this search warrant isn't valid. Even then the justification is... well it stretches the imagination. State-level framing for an inconsequential thorn in a republican governor's side.

It is possible, but it isn't reasonable.

I would fully expect a guilty plea in a month or two.

Post reply on HN