Medical Ethics and Professional Conduct

Virginia Commonwealth University Health says it has placed a nurse on administrative leave and barred her from patient contact while VCU Police investigate a series of viral TikTok videos in which she discussed 'resistance' tactics against federal immigration agents. In clips reposted by LibsOfTikTok, the nurse — using the handle Redheadredemption — urged medical workers to fill syringes with saline or the paralytic succinylcholine as a 'sabotage' or scare tactic, suggested spraying people with poison ivy or oak water, and told single women to date ICE agents and slip Ex‑Lax into their drinks to sideline them from duty. VCU called the videos 'highly inappropriate' and said they do not reflect the health system’s values, stressing that it 'prioritizes the health and safety of anyone who comes to us for care.' The case comes amid intense national backlash and protests over Trump‑era immigration crackdowns, especially in Minnesota, and feeds broader online debates over how far anti‑ICE activism can go before it crosses into criminal incitement or professional misconduct. Legal and medical‑ethics experts on social media are already noting that even if framed as 'jokes,' such public statements can trigger licensure, employment and potentially criminal consequences when they describe methods of assaulting or poisoning law‑enforcement officers.