Published on April 17, 2026 at 3:47 pm
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An associate Duval County medical examiner who was placed on administrative leave for comments on his personal social media account is back on the job but has been “counseled,” according to a city spokesperson.
Dr. Robert Pfalzgraf, a forensic pathologist at the Duval County Medical Examiner’s Office, resumed his duties this week. That follows an internal investigation by the city for a statement posted on Pfalzgraf’s personal X account that read: “I’m looking forward to the big, beautiful obituary.”
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In a memo from Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Robert Pietak dated April 13 and signed by Pfalzgraf, city officials determined the statement “can reasonably be interpreted as expressing enthusiasm for the death of President Donald Trump.”
The memo, obtained by Jacksonville Today through a public records request, also called the conduct “unacceptable” and required formal action.
“This type of commentary is inappropriate and inconsistent with the standards expected of someone in your position at the Medical Examiner’s Office,” the memo states.
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“Although this post was made while off duty, your role within the City of Jacksonville, particularly as a physician and senior member of the Medical Examiner’s Office, places you in a position of pubic trust and high visibility. Your actions, both on and off duty, directly reflect on the integrity, professionalism, and neutrality of this office,” it says.
The associate medical examiner was placed on leave early this month after the X account “Libs of TikTok” posted a screenshot of the tweet dated April 6. The original post, made at 12:04 a.m., had 41 views while the Libs of TikTok retweet had more than 1.1 million views by April 7.
As of Friday, Pfalzgraf’s account appears to have been deleted.
Pfalzgraf is an appointed, at-will city employee. The memo called the counseling a “final warning.” Future violations of the city’s social media policy would result in more disciplinary action “up to and including termination,” the memo said.
Was social media policy violated?
The memo says Pfalzgraf acknowledged receiving the city’s Directive 0529 — its social media policy — in June 2019.
The policy states there is “no restriction on the personal use of social media outside of the office” but “good judgment is encouraged.”
The policy provides scenarios where an employee could see disciplinary consequences for a post.
“This policy is not intended to intrude on employees’ privacy or interfere with their legal
rights,” the policy says. “However, employees may be subject to disciplinary action for social media
activity referring to any City office or function, other City employees, or citizens that is:
- obscene;
- false or defamatory (a communication made with the intent to harm a person’s reputation or made with reckless disregard for whether the statement is true or false);
- likely to create a hostile work environment based on a person’s race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion or any other status protected by law or City policy;
- coercive or threatens physical violence; or
- likely to create a real threat of immediate disruption in the workplace.
Pfalzgraf’s post is the second highly publicized run-in a city employee has had with the social media policy this year.
In January, the city’s first Hispanic outreach coordinator, Yanira “Yaya” Cardona, was put on administrative leave after city officials were made aware of a video she posted to social media in which she talks about recent ICE activity and provides advice on how to navigate interactions with immigration enforcement.
That post brought a subpoena from the state attorney’s office for documents and information. Mayor Donna Deegan defended Cardona and said she did nothing illegal.
Cardona resumed her duties with the city but stepped down earlier this month to take the position of general manager of the Phoenix Arts District.
