Free Republic

The owners of Atilis gym in New Jersey reopened on Saturday by kicking down the wooden barricades authorities used to block their entrance amid coronavirus restrictions. Co-owner Ian Smith posted a video of himself and his business partner, Frank Trumbetti, kicking the barriers and entering as a crowd cheers their decision. The dramatic display indicated that the months-long standoff between Gov. Phil Murphy and the gym owners wasn't finished. Smith's caption contained a defiant message for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy: "You will not trample one [sic] our rights and you will not destroy our lives. We will not back...

A South New Jersey gym was shuttered Monday and its two owners arrested, escalating a battle over the two men's refusal to comply with Gov. Phil Murphy’s coronavirus restrictions. A judge on Friday ordered Atilis gym owners Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti to vacate and cease operations in Bellmawr, N.J. They were charged Monday with disobeying that order, Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill Mayer said. She said Smith, 33, of Delanco Township, and Trumbetti, 51, of Williamstown, were charged with one count of fourth-degree contempt, one count of obstruction, and one count of violation of a disaster control act.

Two New Jersey gyms owners who have repeatedly reopened in defiance of the state’s coronavirus lockdown have been arrested, police said Monday. Atilis Gym owners in Bellmawr— Ian Smith, 33, of Delanco Township, and Frank Trumbetti, 51, of Williamstown — were charged with contempt and violation of a disaster control act, according to the Camden Couty Prosecutor’s Office. The two owners have continually railed against Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order amid the pandemic COVID-19 and even sued lawmakers claiming their constitutional rights were violated when they were forced to close their South Jersey gym.