N.J. nurse sues hospital after suspension for calling out doctor who ‘cheered’ Charlie Kirk’s death
Lexi Kuenzle alleges Englewood Health suspended her without pay after she reported a surgeon’s alleged remark celebrating the shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk; suit seeks unspecified damages.
A New Jersey nurse has filed a lawsuit alleging she was suspended without pay after she publicly criticized a hospital surgeon who she says "cheered" the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Lexi Kuenzle, a registered nurse at Englewood Health, sued the hospital, Dr. Matthew Jung and others Friday in Bergen County Superior Court, saying she was wrongfully disciplined after reporting Jung’s alleged comments to management and posting about the incident on social media.
According to the complaint, Kuenzle was at a nurse’s station with eight other nurses and a patient on a stretcher when news of Kirk’s shooting at a Utah college event broke. The suit says Jung, a bariatric surgeon, responded to the news by saying, “I hate Charlie Kirk. He had it coming. He deserved it.” Kuenzle is quoted in court papers as confronting Jung and later reporting the exchange to hospital supervisors.
The filing says Kuenzle asked how Jung could reconcile such a statement with the Hippocratic Oath and the American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics. The suit further alleges that after Kuenzle posted about the episode on her personal Instagram account, hospital leaders called her into a meeting the next day, suspended her without pay and suggested she look for other employment, according to the complaint.
Kuenzle, a 33-year-old Hoboken resident, has been a nurse for a decade and had worked at Englewood Health for nearly two years, the complaint states. She is seeking unspecified damages.
The lawsuit says Jung offered to "buy lunch" for the nurses who heard his remarks, but that if he were to follow through he would not have included Kuenzle because she had been suspended. The complaint does not state whether Jung has been disciplined by the hospital.
The suit and related social media posts have drawn attention from conservative activists. GOP organizer Scott Presler described Kuenzle on social media as one of "Charlie’s Angels" and questioned whether Jung could objectively treat patients whose political views differed from his own.
Kuenzle’s public posts include images and statements indicating conservative political views, which she and her lawyers say are protected speech. The complaint frames the hospital’s actions as retaliation for Kuenzle’s objection to what she described as a physician celebrating violence against a nonviolent speaker.
The shooting that wounded Kirk occurred at a Utah Valley University event, where law enforcement and security personnel responded. Media coverage of that event showed Kirk being carried from the scene by security. The lawsuit centers on Kuenzle’s reaction to Jung’s alleged in-hospital comment after news of the shooting circulated.
The case was filed in Bergen County Superior Court, and Kuenzle is represented in the suit. The complaint seeks a judgment and unspecified damages; it requests relief for what Kuenzle’s filing describes as wrongful discipline in retaliation for protected speech.
The hospital and the named surgeon did not have public statements attached to the court filing. The complaint makes specific factual allegations that will be resolved through the legal process, including the hospital’s handling of Kuenzle’s report and whether Jung’s remarks occurred as described.
The suit adds to broader debates over workplace speech and discipline, political expression by health care workers, and professional conduct standards for clinicians. It remains to be seen how the hospital will respond in court to the allegations and whether any internal investigation will result in disciplinary action against Jung or other personnel.