A New Jersey nurse is suing her hospital after claiming she faced retaliation for speaking out against a doctor who allegedly celebrated the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, sparking a broader debate over workplace ethics and freedom of expression.
The controversy emerged in the tense aftermath of Kirk’s assassination, an event that sent shockwaves beyond politics into workplaces nationwide, with reports of repercussions for teachers, firefighters, journalists, politicians, and even a Secret Service employee. Lexi Kuenzle, 33, has worked as a nurse for a decade, nearly two of those years at Englewood Health in New Jersey. She alleges that on September 10, shortly after news broke that Kirk was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, a colleague—bariatric surgeon Dr. Matthew Jung—“cheered” in front of her, eight other nurses, and a patient on a stretcher.