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The 13-year-old son of a ‘whistleblower’ who claims Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office fabricated Covid-19 statistics during the pandemic has been arrested after he threatened to shoot up a school.
Rebecca Jones took to Twitter Tuesday night to announce the arrest, which she claims was personally ordered by DeSantis and carried out by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Jones said her son was taken into custody because of memes he had sent in a private group chat that joked about school shootings — including one that made fun of lazy school security guards, and another that poked fun at the temptation to grab the school security guards’ guns.
But a police report released Thursday by the sheriff’s office indicated that the motive for the arrest went beyond the memes, and noted that Jones downplayed the seriousness of the charges her son faces.
Footage from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s office showed Rebecca Jones bringing her 13-year-old son to arrest after he was accused of making threats to shoot up the school.
Cops claim that Jones’ son has made numerous explicit statements describing his desire to shoot and stab students at Holy Navarre Middle School, even going so far as to schedule his planned rampage.
The boy was accused of “making written (or) electronic threats” that he was planning a “mass shooting (or) terrorist act”. He was released on Thursday after he denied wanting to shoot and was placed under house arrest, according to what was reported Miami Herald.
The arrest comes three weeks after Jones filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the Florida Department of Health seeking her job back, back payments and other damages. She was dismissed from management for insubordination in 2020 after leaking data the state said was false.
Rebecca Jones gained national attention in 2020 after the Florida Department of Health was accused of falsifying their Covid-19 statistics at the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis
One of the SMS messages sent by Jones’ son that led to his arrest over shooting fears
Jones said someone who said he was the cousin of a classmate joined her son’s group chat, and she later reported memes and photos her son shared with police, according to Pensacola News Journal.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to DailyMail.com that the photos include a SnapChat of a man drinking a box of Hi-C that reads, “I feel so silly that I might photograph a building full of people.”
It is unclear who the man in the photo is, though it does not appear to be Jones’ son.
Another showed an animated brain with a thought bubble illustrating an intrusive thought that read “Reach for officer’s gun” and captioned it “Me every time I see school security.”
A third image showed an overweight man sleeping in a chair that read, “Cops in their car waiting for school shooter to kill himself so they can get in.”
Jones wrote on Twitter that the memes were re-recorded and reported just a week after she sued Florida.
“A week after we sued the state, a kid claiming to be the cousin of one of my son’s classmates joined their Snapchat group,” she wrote. They recorded their conversations, and anonymously reported my son to the police for sharing a popular internet meme.
She said her son has autism and that the police did not allow him to take his medication with him when he was arrested.
According to the police report, the warnings about Jones’ son were raised before the investigation began with him, the Pensacola News-Journal reports.
Snapchat’s son sent Jones arrested over fears of planned school shooting
Send memi jones son in a private group chat. Jones said this was one of the reasons her son was arrested over fears he was planning a school shooting
This report alleged that Jones’ son said verbally and through text messages things like “I want to shoot the school” and “If I get a gun I’ll shoot hnms lol.” HMNS is meant to serve as Holley Navarre Middle School.
Other letters purportedly read “I am rage and natural selection so perhaps I don’t think many know what the Columbine shooters look like.”
The report reads: ‘Well it’s been 3-4 weeks since I got my new antidepressant and it’s not working but it’s supposed to by now so I have no hope of getting better so why not kill the losers in school.
The boy allegedly said he planned to shoot it before spring break, but pushed it back to March 31.
Jones portrayed the arrest as a revenge attempt to silence her after filing her lawsuit against the state.
It’s been three weeks since we filed our case against the state. Last night, they arrested my son for non threatening snapchat memes. The officer said this was the state’s call.
My family is not safe. My son was taken on government orders, and I had to send my husband and daughter out of state for their safety. This is the reality of DeSantis living in Florida. There is no freedom here. Only vengeful rule by a fascist who wishes to become king.