Florida Bans Nurse Over TikTok Post About Press Secretary
A Florida labor and delivery nurse is banned from working in the state after an expletive-filled TikTok post wishing President Donald Trump's pregnant press secretary a painful childbirth.
Lexie Lawler is no longer allowed to work as a nurse in Florida, effective immediately, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Wednesday on social media. Lawler was fired from Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital earlier this month following her post about Karoline Leavitt.
"Making statements that wish pain and suffering on anyone, when those statements are directly related to one's practice, is an ethical red line we should not cross," Uthmeier posted.
A GoFundMe account set up to help Lawler with "employment and civil rights counsel" had raised a little more than $12,000 as of January 29.
"When the Attorney General and Surgeon General of Florida involve themselves in matters affecting a single private citizen, that represents an extraordinary level of state involvement," according to the GoFundMe. "Lexie did not commit malpractice, harm a patient, or have any prior complaints. She has ten years of nursing with zero disciplinary history. She spoke off the clock, as a private citizen."
What She Actually Said
Lawler's TikTok video said she wanted Leavitt to experience a "fourth-degree tear" while giving birth to her second child. Leavitt, 28, is expecting her second baby with husband Nicholas Roccio.
"As a labor and delivery nurse, it gives me great joy to wish Karoline Leavitt a fourth-degree tear," Lawler said in the now-deleted video. "I hope that you f---ing rip from bow to stern and never sh-- normally again, you c---."
For context, a fourth-degree tear is one of the most severe types of tearing that can occur during childbirth, extending through the anal sphincter and into the rectal lining.
She Doubled Down Over the Weekend
Lawler took to social media again over the weekend following the Minneapolis killing of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and registered nurse who treated veterans. He was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent after confronting immigration authorities on January 24.
Federal officials said Pretti was carrying a gun he intended to use to "kill law enforcement." Videos from bystanders—and a witness account in court filings—don't show Pretti brandishing a weapon when he approached agents.
"They murdered a man in Minnesota and you mother**** are coming after me because I used bad language? Fk you. I'm on the right side of this. Fk you," Lawler said while holding up her middle finger.
The Hospital Responded Fast
Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional Hospital issued a statement January 23 confirming Lawler had been terminated following backlash over her TikTok post.
"The comments made in a social media video by a nurse at one of our facilities do not reflect our values or the standards we expect of healthcare professionals," the hospital spokesperson said. "Following a prompt review, the individual is no longer employed by our health system."
The statement continued: "While we respect the right to personal opinions, there is no place in healthcare for language or behavior that calls into question a caregiver's ability to provide compassionate, unbiased care."
Boca Raton's mayor, Scott Singer, also issued a statement condemning Lawler's actions.
The Bigger Picture
The GoFundMe argues that Lawler is now fighting "not just for her livelihood, but for the principle that professional licenses should not be used in ways that chill or deter lawful speech."
The account emphasizes she has "ten years of nursing with zero disciplinary history" and "spoke off the clock, as a private citizen."
But the state's position is clear: wishing harm on someone in the context of your medical profession crosses a line, regardless of when or where you said it.
So, a nurse made an angry TikTok post wishing harm on a public figure during childbirth, got fired, and is now banned from practicing in Florida. The state says it crossed an ethical line. Her supporters say it's free speech retaliation. Either way, her nursing career in Florida is over.
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