A Florida student who tracked Elon Musk’s private jet is now monitoring the jet used by Gov. DeSantis
Related video above: DeSantis could announce his presidential nomination any day
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida student who garnered attention last year by following Elon Musk’s private jet on Twitter has found a new subject to follow — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
University of Central Florida student Jack Sweeney created a new Twitter account: @DeSantisJetto follow the state-owned jet used by DeSantis. Sweeney told Insider that he set up the account to stalk the governor “due to rising interest in DeSantis,” amid speculation that he will announce his intention to run “any day” for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
While it’s not confirmed if DeSantis will run for president, the governor is making headlines for recent legislation passed in the state, including a law that went into effect “blacking out details on travel.” [DeSantis] operates both state, private and charter flights.”
The bill, which went into effect on May 11, also blacked out the details of the names of employees and family members traveling with them. However, it is still possible to trace the whereabouts of the governor.
The new account created by Sweeney uses publicly available data from Flight tracking platform ADS-B Exchange. In the @DeSantisJet Twitter page’s bio, Sweeney stated that he uses this platform to follow the governor’s travels.
Since the account was only created this month, the sophomore shared the first tweet about the governor’s travels as he was flying out of there Tallahassee to Tampa on May 17th. While all of the data Sweeney is using to track DeSantis’ private jet is public, the Twitter account doesn’t release flight information until 24 hours after the trip to “comply with Twitter rules.”
The new rule was detailed in an updated privacy policy on the social media site and prevents users from sharing others’ live locations. This rule came after Sweeney made headlines when Musk offered him $5,000 to remove the Twitter account tracking his private jet.
Ultimately, Sweeney turned down the offer and kept the account, but when Musk became CEO of Twitter, he suspended the account. The student found a way around his ban by creating a new account called “@ElonJetNextDay” where the jet trips were posted a day later.
The @DeSantisJet account creation comes just before a travel advisory was issued for the state of Florida this weekend by a leading civil rights group, the NAACP.
The organization said the recommendation was “a direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ aggressive attempts to erase black history and restrict diversity, equality and inclusion programs in Florida schools.”
The report cites several bills signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, including the six-week abortion ban, the Constitutional Carry Act and the Stop WOKE Act. The statement also cites bills that restrict access to gender-equitable health care.
In an email to 8 On Your Side, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said the travel advisory was a ploy, and that’s how DeSantis has responded to previous travel advisories as well.
“We’re getting into these stupid fights,” DeSantis said months ago. “It’s a trick to try. It’s pure stunt. And well, if you want to waste your time doing a stunt, that’s fine.”
At the time of this writing, the @DeSantisJet Twitter account already has 8,444 followers.
