A New Jersey surgeon accused of “cheering” Charlie Kirk’s murder at work has resigned, while the nurse who was suspended for reporting the incident has been reinstated, the hospital announced Monday.
Dr. Matthew Jung of Englewood Health stepped down following the troubling episode, which occurred shortly after news of Kirk’s assassination emerged on Wednesday.
“We have accepted the physician’s resignation,” an Englewood Health spokesperson told The Post.
Jung allegedly celebrated news of Kirk’s murder in front of the hospital’s nurses’ station and defended his remarks when nurse Lexi Kuenzle questioned how someone responsible for saving lives could celebrate a death.
Kuenzle later shared the incident on social media and was suspended, but the hospital now confirms she has been reinstated.
“The nurse is expected to work her scheduled shifts,” an Englewood Health spokesperson said, refuting reports that Kuenzle had been fired or suspended without pay.
“The nurse was never fired, never told she would be fired, and will not lose any pay as part of our review of this matter,” an Englewood Health representative said.
“Englewood Health is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all.”
Kuenzle has filed a lawsuit in Bergen County Superior Court against the hospital, Dr. Jung, and others, claiming her suspension was unjust.
She was reportedly standing near Jung—with a patient on a stretcher and eight other nurses nearby—when news of Kirk’s shooting broke.
“Oh my God! That’s terrible! I love him!” Kuenzle reportedly said.
Jung allegedly responded, “I hate Charlie Kirk. He had it coming. He deserved it,” according to Kuenzle.
Kuenzle reported the incident to management, and after posting about it on social media that night, she came to work to find she had been suspended. A union representative allegedly even advised her to start looking for a new job.
The nurse previously described Jung’s comments to The Post as “mind-blowing” and said they left her “so angry and upset.”
Her lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages, states, “[Kuenzle] had the audacity to question how Dr. Jung can comply with the Hippocratic Oath and the American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics while celebrating the murder of a non-violent Christian speaker on a college campus.”
