Michelea Ponce, a medical staffer at Enloe Health in Northern California, is facing widespread condemnation, an ongoing police investigation, and possible termination over an online video showing her verbally abusing an elderly Target employee.
The incident occurred on December 15 at a Target store in Orland, California. The video captures Ponce aggressively interrogating Jeanie, a senior employee stocking shelves, after she wore a Charlie Kirk “Freedom” shirt as part of the store’s dress code.
Ponce recorded her profanity-laced tirade against Jeanie and posted it on TikTok. The video quickly went viral, sparking outrage across social media platforms. A GiveSendGo fundraising campaign to “Give Jeanie From Target a Vacation” has already raised over $125,000.
Jeanie remained calm throughout the confrontation. She explained that she was permitted to wear any red shirt under Target’s dress code.
“It’s not a plain red shirt,” Ponce argued.
“It doesn’t have to be,” Jeanie informed her.
“It’s a Charlie Kirk shirt!” Ponce shot back.
“Yes, I know,” Jeanie replied politely.
“Are you f-cking stupid?” Ponce exclaimed. “Why the F-CK would you wear that?” she demanded, her voice raising. “You’re at work, at Target—it’s not a Target shirt. It’s not a plain red shirt.”
Before Jeanie could respond, Ponce added, “you support a racist!”
“It’s not racist,” Jeanie replied meekly.
“You support a racist!” Ponce bellowed.
Jeanie calmly responded, “he is not a racist,” prompting Ponce to angrily say, “yes he f-cking is!”
The woman told Ponce she didn’t want to argue and hoped the confrontation would end. But it did not.
“You should go get your manager. You should not be allowed to wear that at work,” Ponce declared. “Unacceptable!”
Jeanie smiled and shrugged, telling Ponce, “that’s your opinion.”
“The opinion is he’s a f-cking racist and you support him,” Ponce exclaimed.
“That’s your opinion ma’am,” Jeanie responded quietly, before wishing Ponce a nice day.
Ponce continued her tirade:
“You should not be allowed to wear that! This is going to be taken above your f-cking head,” she snapped. “That’s insane!”
“Have a nice day,” the woman said again, before walking away.
Enloe Health stated it has been flooded with calls about Ponce’s behavior and is conducting an internal investigation into the incident. The independent nonprofit health system, based in Chico, California, added that it will rely on the Chico Police Department to investigate any potential criminal activity or threats related to the event.
The Chico Police Department confirmed it is aware of the video circulating online and has begun an active investigation with local partners.
As of Wednesday, December 17, 2025, Enloe Health announced no formal disciplinary action against Ponce.
Jeanie’s manager stated that Jeanie has not been punished or reprimanded for wearing her Charlie Kirk tee shirt at Target. The manager noted, “Everyone there loves her. She doesn’t even know if she will retire because she loves everyone there so much.”
Jeanie expressed immense gratitude for the support received. Her manager added: “She’s just as sweet as in the video. The internet did a really good thing here. She’s so deserving.”
A disturbing photo shared by Ponce on Facebook last month has also surfaced online. It shows her husband Jose Ponce pointing to his neck in front of a car with an “America Needed Charlie Kirk” decal.
