BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — A former Boca Raton nurse at the center of a viral social media controversy is taking her fight to Florida’s appellate courts after the Florida Department of Health issued an emergency order suspending her nursing license.
Alexis B. Lawler, an RN who described herself as a labor and delivery nurse with more than 12 years of experience, has filed a Petition for Review in Florida’s First District Court of Appeal challenging the Department of Health’s Order of Emergency Suspension, according to a press release issued in her name.
The filing comes weeks after Boca Post reported that Lawler — identified online as “Lexie Lawler” and using the name “Lexie Laww” on social media — was no longer employed by Baptist Health South Florida following a widely shared video that drew public backlash and prompted a public response from both the hospital system and Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer.
In the new court filing, Lawler argues the emergency suspension was based on political commentary she made on social media while off duty and at home, and that the Department of Health concluded her continued practice posed an “immediate serious danger” to the public. Her appeal raises First Amendment and due process concerns, and challenges whether the state met the legal standard required to use emergency authority against a professional license.
Lawler’s petition cites Section 120.60(6), Florida Statutes — the portion of Florida’s administrative law that permits an agency to suspend a professional license on an emergency basis only when the order contains factually explicit findings showing an immediate and continuing threat. The statute also requires the agency to impose the least restrictive action necessary to protect the public, according to the release.
In her filing, Lawler argues the emergency order did not identify patient harm, clinical misconduct, workplace discipline, or a deviation from standards of care during her nursing career. The social media comments cited in the order, she contends, were made outside any healthcare setting and were not directed toward a patient.
“This case presents a serious constitutional question,” Lawler said in the press release. “Can the government use emergency powers to suspend a professional license based solely on speech made at home, without evidence of patient harm?”
The appeal also argues the emergency action was overbroad because it bars Lawler from practicing nursing in any capacity, including roles that involve no direct patient contact. As an alternative request, the press release says Lawler has asked the court to modify the suspension to allow her to work in non–patient-facing roles while the case proceeds.
Lawler’s appeal lands against the backdrop of a fast-moving local controversy that began with viral posts and quickly escalated into institutional and political response. Boca Post previously reported that Baptist Health South Florida publicly stated, after what it described as a prompt review, that the individual in the original video was no longer employed by the health system. Mayor Singer also posted publicly that he contacted hospital leadership and was told the person in the video was no longer employed.
The controversy expanded beyond employment when Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier posted on X that the Florida Board of Nursing should revoke Lawler’s license. Boca Post later reported that, as of publication of that story, no public notice had been seen announcing action by the Board of Nursing in response to the attorney general’s post.
At the same time, Boca Post reported on a GoFundMe campaign promoted through “Unlawful Threads” and posts tied to the “Unlawful Inc.” Facebook group, framing Lawler’s firing as retaliation for political speech and raising money for what the fundraiser described as legal defense. The coverage also noted that Lawler and her husband, Tim Lawler, were listed as administrators of the Facebook group, and that state records listed Tim Lawler as the owner of Unlawful Threads LLC.
Lawler’s appellate case is now pending in the First District Court of Appeal. Legal proceedings are ongoing.
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