Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The owner of a gym in New Jersey who shot to national attention after defying COVID-19 restrictions by keeping his gym open has had all charges against him dropped.
Ian Smith, the co-owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, said in a statement on the social media platform X on May 18 that the more than 80 charges against him and the gym’s co-owner Frank Trumbetti have been dropped with prejudice, meaning they cannot be revisited or refiled.
Among the charges levied against the two men by the state were violations of a governor’s order, public nuisance, disturbing the peace, and operating without a license.
“The support we received locally, nationally, and internationally for our stand is something I will be forever grateful for,” Mr. Smith said. “With that being said, I am thrilled to announce that we have achieved a major victory in the long, hard fight against the State.”
Mr. Smith added that the “victory 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 lackies [sic],” referencing the New Jersey Governor.
He further thanked his “fearless attorneys,” adding that “some of the most high profile attorneys around the country ran from our case—knowing it would be a long, hard road and would make them a target of the stare.”
“Again, thank you to all who supported us. We could not have done it without you … Nobody is coming to save you, save yourself. Spit on your hands and hoist the black flag. No quarter,” he concluded.
Gym Owners Rack Up Millions in Fines
Mr. Smith and Mr. Trumbetti racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines—including a $15,000 per day fine—for keeping their gym open in defiance of a state-wide order instructing non-essential businesses to close during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.
The two men had argued that they had implemented a range of safety protocols at the gym and had only found a single case of the virus that could be traced back to the health facility, despite receiving upward of 84,000 visits.
However, state officials held steady with the fines, and in December 2021, Mr. Smith said they amounted to more than $1.2 million for violating the public health emergency rules, although he stressed he had no intention of paying them.
The two men were later arrested and charged on multiple counts, including one count of fourth-degree contempt, one count of obstruction, and one count of violation of a disaster control act, among others.
Despite the mounting charges against them, the businessman filed a federal lawsuit against the state accusing Mr. Murphy, along with then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and other New Jersey police officials accusing them of violating their constitutional rights by forcing them to shut down their business.
The Epoch Times has contacted the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office for comment.
Mr. Smith’s legal win comes after he tried to run for Congress in 2022, challenging two-term Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.).
At the time, the gym owner said he planned to run on a platform focused on “liberty, small government, and America First policies,” and vowed to fight COVID-19 mandates, soaring illegal immigration, and increased government spending.
“For too long, good people have not gotten involved in politics—whether that is because the establishment won’t open the door for them or they don’t want to participate in the foul world of politics. More than anything, this needs to change. And I will be a part of that change,” Mr. Smith said in announcing his Congressional run.
However, the businessman was ultimately defeated in the primary by businessman Bob Healey.
Lorenz Duchamps contributed to this report.
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A couple of good guys win! Good for them. Bigger question can these guys sue the perps in govland for violation of their civil rights?
That IS what “redress of grievances”means…
Used to be the standard was the government cannot be harmed(for obvious reasons)….that has now been flipped on its head…….the government DOES NO wrong and CAN BE harmed……so much for YOUR sovereignty!…..
Let the retribution lawsuits begin….
Covid reinforced my beliefs to never ever trust the government, so there is a benefit to all the fuckover We all experienced.
It also exposed the character of weak simple minded people lacking in critical thinking skills.
The system doesn’t have interest in prosecuting the system.
It’s a conflict of interest.
They take checks, but no balances.
Congratulations gentlemen; a boon to resistors everywhere.
Always fight back against tyrants and tyranny. Fuck the totalitarians and FJB.
Murphy’s assets need to be seized and sold to pay this victim. Then he needs to face crimes against humanity charges.
With a woodchipper feet first.
Goes without saying.
My personal poison would be a slow acting poisoned tip pike up the anus centimeter by centimeter. What will end them first? Will it be the poison or the pike?
and many many more.
ILuvCo2, Yes and yes, but with a woodchipper or a poison pike, or both?
No answer is fine.
very, very slowly
Yay! Good for him and hopefully many more like him.
Did the men really find a single case of the virus? Probably not. Not to say that some nasty shit wasn’t going around.
The “nasty shit” was called seasonal flu. Some years are worse than others. There’s no such thing as “covid.”
ICYMI,
Good news, finally:
Bad news is, his malicious prosecution will go unpunished.
Cops ‘learning’ and then simply honoring their oath would go a LONG way.
Not happening.
Yep!, I know.
To Serve the Politicians and to Protect the Pension. Is that the oath you are talking about?
I dedicate this fireworks show to their success!
These governmental abuses are blatant objectives of the democrat agenda.
Uniparty.
Too bad more sheep didn’t resist. If enough people pushed back fedgov would have had to back down. There’s not enough minions to enforce bad rule. It wasn’t even laws he resisted. It was bad Dept of Public Health rules.
“Suck my dick Phil”…the quote heard round the world.
How many million$ did they have to spend on attorneys to get this “win”. Lawfare is the state using unlimited resources to go after its “enemies” and bankrupting them in the process.
“The two men had argued that they had implemented a range of safety protocols at the gym and had only found a single case of the virus that could be traced back to the health facility, despite receiving upward of 84,000 visits.”
Apparently, their attorneys convinced them that pointing out that a governor has no authority to issue what amounts to legislation in the form of an executive order would be a non-starter.