A Long Beach registered nurse is facing intense backlash after an Instagram story that appeared to wish death on President Donald Trump and the late Sen. Lindsey Graham made the rounds online over the weekend. The post, which also featured a photo of Senate leader Mitch McConnell, quickly raised alarms and revived a familiar debate about when a health care worker’s public speech crosses professional lines. Multiple outlets identified the account with the handle "lb_buddha" as belonging to a local nurse at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, not exactly the kind of bedside image hospitals like to project.
According to the New York Post, the Instagram story showed a collage of McConnell, Trump, and Graham with a caption that read: "if all 3 of these fers die this week, i might become religious again." The post drew widespread condemnation online and was saved by users before the account removed it, the outlet reported.
Public records and the account’s online footprint linked the handle to Robert Acuna Bagshaw, a California-registered nurse who lists Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and Miller Children's & Women's Hospital on his LinkedIn profile. MemorialCare, the health system that operates the campus, lists Long Beach Medical Center as part of its network.
Sen. Graham died on Saturday after what his office called a "brief and sudden illness," and a preliminary medical-examiner finding said he suffered an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to The Washington Post. The timing of his death helped explain why the Instagram post caught such a fast, furious wave of attention.
How Employers And Licensing Boards Typically Respond
Hospitals and state nursing boards have broad authority to investigate and discipline nurses for off-duty conduct that regulators view as "unprofessional" or as undermining patient safety or public trust. The California Board of Registered Nursing says it reviews complaints, can act on anonymous tips and may open investigations based on those reports. Its complaint process explains how allegations are assessed and under what circumstances formal discipline can follow, according to the California Board of Registered Nursing.
National guidance from the American Nurses Association and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing urges nurses to maintain professional boundaries online and notes that standards of professional conduct apply to social media just as they do inside the hospital.
The New York Post reported that Fox News Digital reached out to Long Beach Memorial and other parties for comment but did not immediately receive responses. As of that reporting, it was not clear whether the hospital had opened a personnel review or whether the state board had received any formal complaints about the post.
Anyone who believes a licensed nurse has committed misconduct can file a complaint with the California Board of Registered Nursing, which posts instructions and a complaint form on its website. MemorialCare had not issued a public statement about the Instagram post at the time it was reported.
