New Jersey Gym Owners Are “Not Backing Down” Against COVID-19 Shutdown

Atilis gym owners Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti remain locked in a battle with Gov. Phil Murphy on reopening amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the gym owners are “not backing down.”

According to a report by 6ABC, on Friday, a state judge ruled “that New Jersey authorities can shut down a gym that has repeatedly defied Gov. Phil Murphy's executive order to remain closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

On “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Smith and Trumbetti explained what happened. “So, the judge awarded the state the ability to come and padlock our doors. So, Frank and I had been here now for over 48 hours running the gym 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We got some volunteers and we took the doors off the hinges,” Smith said.

“They’ve already locked our doors once. It’s our private property. This is a place that we have built and spent our – all of our time creating. And, we refuse to be locked out and bullied by the governor again,” he also added.

An Unfair Call?

Trumbetti mentioned how Murphy loosened health restrictions for other fitness-related activities.

“I’m signing an Executive Order to allow contact drills and practices, and competitions, to resume today for high-risk sports. Practices must be held at outdoor venues ONLY. All sports will have to abide by a number of health and safety protocols,” Murphy tweeted last week.

“So, I can do full-contact martial arts. I can box somebody outside. I can tackle them in football. I can do rugby, you know, scrum and I can't get COVID. But, somehow if I walk into my gym and decide I want to lift weights or even go inside a martial arts studio, I will get COVID if I do the same exact things?” Trumbetti questioned. “It’s actually insanity,” he then remarked.

Smith then said they have two weeks’ worth of clothing, and they will “not be leaving unless we are arrested or unless the state backs down.”

“We can operate our business safely, responsibly. We have shown that to be true. We haven't had a single case of COVID reported and we have everybody's records here,” he also stated. “So, we're not backing down from this one,” he then added.

Smith and Trumbetti have given their gym the nickname “A.M.A.Z.” or an “Anti-Murphy Autonomous Zone.”

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