Massive victory for owners of Atilis Gym after the court dropped all the municipal citations of violations charged against them by its bigoted governor, Philip Murphy (D), during the pandemic.
Ian Smith, owner of the Atilis Gym, wrote on X on Saturday: “4 years ago today, we reopened Atilis Gym in direct violation of an unconstitutional order by Governor Philip Murphy to close small businesses in New Jersey.”
In May 2020, Smith and his partner Frank Trumbetti defied guidelines set by the state by reopening their gym, “violating” the arbitrary executive order imposed by Gov. Murphy, alleging that small businesses, which he deems “nonessential” must close down to prevent the spread of the virus.
Trumbetti noted that his defiant stance on Murphy’s policies is a fight for people’s rights, “I’m fighting for our constitutional rights and our freedoms.”
The attacks against Smith and the gym worsened as police authorities arrested Smith in July 2020.
In his interview with Fox News in May 2020, “We reject the premise of essential vs nonessential businesses. Anything that Walmart can do, with hundreds, if not thousands of people passing through the store, touching everything inside, a small business…can replicate those things.”
After a year, Murphy took all the gym’s assets amounting to $165,000 and threatened the owners with a $15,000 fine each day that they decided to remain open. This move intends to bankrupt the gym owners and threaten other “small businesses.”
Smith blasted Gov Murphy and said in a video statement, “Governor Phil Murphy seized 100% of our assets today – $165k, all of which came from donations and apparel sales. This is done in the middle of ongoing litigation defending ourselves against these fines, our 80 charges, the revocation of our business license, and the unconstitutional health department shutdown. This was never about protection, it was always about control.”
In a tweet, Smith relayed that the charges dropped were “public nuisance, disturbing the peace, and operating without a license.”
He added that the judges ruled that the citations dropped with prejudice.
“This means the State has NO ability to revisit or refile these charges,” the gym owner emphasized.
Smith further said that the court’s decision “opens the battlefield again and gives us options to continue to push back and bring justice to the treasonous actions of Phil Murphy and his lackeys.”
The gym owners thanked their lawyers, John McCann and Giancarlo Ghione, who “stood with us through the darkest days of the storm, have not flinched, and never once cared about being in front of cameras to gain notoriety from their work.”
Closing his post on X, Smith thundered at Murphy: “S**k my d**k, Phil Murphy.”
