South Jersey Gym Owner Speaks At Reopen NJ Rally

BELLMAWR, NJ — The owner of a South Jersey gym that has repeatedly opened in violation of Gov. Phil Murphy’s stay-at-home executive order attended the Rally to Open New Jersey, Monday in Point Pleasant Beach.

“We don’t need the government to tell us what we can and can’t do,” Ian Smith, the co-owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, told the crowd that consisted mostly of business owners eager to reopen. “We need a government that protects our rights and doesn’t make exceptions.”

Smith and Frank Trumbetti gained national fame when they reopened the gym three times last week in defiance of the governor. The gym was closed by order of the state on Thursday. It reopened on Friday, but was shut down again by court order on Friday.

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In the order that shuttered the gym on Friday, state officials said they could take further steps to ensure the gym would remain closed to the public, including locking the doors. The owners said they would file an injunction that would allow the gym to reopen on Wednesday. An attorney representing the gym owners didn’t respond to requests for comment from Patch on Tuesday.

As of late Tuesday night, the gym owners hadn’t announced that they would be open on Wednesday as they previously have on social media. There was no message on the gym’s phone indicating that it would be open on Wednesday.

The rally was held in the Silver Lake parking lot and dubbed the "Freedom March of New Jersey."
Smith spoke during the rally, along with Monmouth County Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger, a Republican; state Sen. Joe Pennachio, a Republican from Morris County; and South Jersey state Senator Mike Testa, also a Republican. Many in the audience waved Trump flags.

“No politician has had trouble sleeping at night because of this,” Smith said. “Meanwhile, thousands and millions of Americans are afraid, not knowing what’s coming next for their families.”

See related: Reopen NJ Protest Draws Crowd To Point Pleasant Beach

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