Nurses Reportedly Loses License After Social Media Video
The recent spate of controversies involving medical professionals airing extreme political views online has ignited a broader and deeply unsettling conversation about trust, ethics, and accountability in health care.
On one level, the revelations are alarming, suggesting that ideological hostility has seeped into professions where neutrality and patient welfare are supposed to be paramount. On another, the public nature of these posts has made it possible for employers, regulators, and communities to respond swiftly when lines are crossed.
Meet Erik Martindale, a registered Florida nurse.
He says he won’t give anesthesia for Republicans undergoing surgery and believes that’s his right and is ethical.
He needs to be fired and stripped of his license immediately. @FLNursingBoard pic.twitter.com/CP3dWHH1CX
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 26, 2026
That dynamic was on full display in the case of Malinda Cook, a certified registered nurse anesthetist at VCU Medical Center in Richmond. Cook drew national attention after posting a series of TikTok videos encouraging behavior that critics said could medically harm or incapacitate immigration enforcement officers.
The videos went viral, prompting backlash and calls for action. VCU Health confirmed that after an investigation, Cook was no longer employed and that the institution had fulfilled its reporting obligations under Virginia law. The response underscored how seriously health systems view public conduct that appears to conflict with professional and ethical standards.
Effective today, Lexie Lawler is no longer allowed to practice nursing in Florida.
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. I’m proud of @FLSurgeonGen for… https://t.co/bil0VltF9Y
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) January 28, 2026
Similar controversies soon followed in Florida. Attorney General James Uthmeier took an aggressive stance after reports surfaced about nurses who publicly expressed anti-ICE or anti-MAGA sentiments tied directly to patient care. One of them, Erik Martindale, became the focus of scrutiny after a social media post attributed to him claimed he would refuse anesthesia to “MAGA” patients.
Although Martindale later asserted his account had been hacked, state records show he voluntarily surrendered his Florida nursing license. A senior state official confirmed he also violated licensing rules by moving out of state without notifying regulators.
🚨 BREAKING: Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo JUST REVOKED the nursing license of labor and delivery nurse Lexie Lawler for saying about Karoline Leavitt’s coming child — “I hope you f*cking rip from bow to stern and never sh*t normally again, you c*nt.”
NOT IN FLORIDA! 🔥… pic.twitter.com/mXCCURc9e3
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 28, 2026
Uthmeier was unequivocal in his response, stating that health care cannot be contingent on political beliefs and that there is zero tolerance for practitioners who put ideology above their ethical duty to treat patients with dignity. That message echoed again in the case of Lexie Lawler, a labor and delivery nurse in Boca Raton who was fired after a TikTok video in which she expressed a desire for severe medical harm to befall Trump White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt following childbirth. Hospital officials said her remarks violated standards of compassionate and unbiased care, while Uthmeier publicly argued that termination alone was insufficient.
