#New Jersey gym owners defy COVID-19 lockdown again, kick down boarded-up door

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Atilis Gym owners Frank Trumbetti, 51, left, and Ian Smith, 33, in the gym.
Stephen Yang

The defiant owners of a New Jersey gym that has repeatedly ignored coronavirus lockdown orders literally kicked their way back to business over the weekend.

Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti, the owners of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, who were arrested last week for opening in violation of the state restrictions, kicked down the boarded-up front door to the business Saturday.

They even posted the event on Instagram, with a message slamming New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

“I hate the fact that it has to come to this,” Smith, 33, wrote. “Governor Murphy can portray us in whatever villainous way he wants, but our hands are forced here and that’s his fault.”

“We are over 4 months into an economic shutdown that was supposed to be 14 days,” he said. “It’s time to end this and resume life in a safe and responsible manner.”

The two gym owners have had a months-long feud with the governor, and have repeatedly been forced to shut down. They sued the state for the right to open, but a judge ruled last week that they had to vacate the facility amid the state restrictions.

State health officials have determined that indoor gyms and fitness facilities “present particularly high-risk settings for the spread of COVID-19.”

The state Attorney General’s Office has consistently agreed and said enforcement actions against Atilis have been necessary because the owners have repeatedly defied court orders to keep their doors locked.

Smith and Trumbetti, however, contend that their abbreviated openings have complied with social distancing requirements and other measures to combat the spread of the deadly pandemic.

“They continue to protest the continued unconstitutional enforcement of these ridiculous executive orders,” their attorney, James Mermigis, said in an email to The Post Sunday. “This is a personal attack by the governor against my clients. The governor has engaged in one hypocrisy after another yet chooses to single out my clients.”

He called Murphy’s shutdown order “random and arbitrary,” and said state health officials have yet to inspect the gym to evaluate the safety precautions the two owners put in place.