Ian Smith Atilis Bellmawr Mercantile License Revoked- Smith Says ‘We’re Staying Open’
Last night, it was revealed that Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey, which is owned by Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti officially had their
Matt Richards
Last night, it was revealed that Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey, which is owned by Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti officially had their mercantile license revoked in a 5-1 vote in a special meeting.
As our readers know, Smith and Trumbetti have become national symbols of resistance to the Government, after they refused to keep their gym shut simply because Governor Phil Murphy says it’s not safe for gyms to open.
In our last conversation with Smith, he explained the safety protocols his gym has in place which he believes makes it safe for it to open, as well as pointed out very specific hypocrisies in things that Murphy has allowed to open while still insisting his gym (and others like it) stay closed. Smith also indicated to us in our last conversation that he felt this was a personal thing on Murphy’s part against him and Trumbetti at this point, and even pointed to some of the language in executive orders as proof.
After last night’s ruling, we caught up with Smith this morning to get his exclusive reaction to what happened, as well as to discuss how he and Trumbetti plan on moving forward.
Staying Open!
When asked what was going to happen now that last night’s vote had occurred, Smith told Celeb “We’re Open.”
“Yes [we’re staying open],” Smith added.
As far as what the next steps are, Smith told us “We’ll see. Murphy will stop at nothing to shut us down. He has made this entirely personal and not put forth a single shred of hard and reliable science that distinguishes why a gym or a movie theater or indoor dining still deserves to be shut down while anything else can remain open with safety protocols in place.”
“He’s arbitrarily picking and choosing winners and losers,” Smith continued. “And he does not back up any of his conclusionary statements with one piece of evidence. There’s not one thing that he has presented that is something that we can look at and say, ‘Okay, you know what? Gyms are more dangerous.’ There’s no difference between rolling around on the mats in a martial arts studio and working out in the gym; however, he has made that something where he can distinguish one between another in terms of how safe it is. And we’re demanding to see the science.”
Smith went on to use a concrete example of something that is allowed to be open while his gym is supposed to remain closed- namely, NJ Transit.
Smith explained that “Public transportation- public transportation right now is operating at 100% capacity. So if you could get on an NJ Transit bus, that’s allowed at a full 100% capacity- 60 people and a driver, please show me some sort of science that shows that is even remotely as safe as walking into my facility. And he can’t and he won’t. So we’re going to demand that information in court. And that’s where we’ll be taking our sort of legal proceedings when we go on the offensive.”
“Until then, we’re open,” Smith added, “and Murphy can come and Murphy can do whatever he wants. He’s shown that he does whatever he wants. He’s shown that he does not care.”
About Last night
Speaking more about last night’s council meeting, Smith stated that “We walked into that council meeting last night and got a five-to-one vote against us. None of these people have ever stepped foot inside of the building. Not a single one of them has even contacted us to look at our safety protocols. Not one single attempt in local government to understand the situation. They were following orders and they executed those orders like good little soldiers.”
“It’s laughable and that gives us the confidence to move forward because we are in the right here,” Smith continued. “I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are in the right here and that we have done everything- more than anybody has done- to keep our customers safe. And our numbers prove it. We are well over 18,000- on our way to 19,000- unique visits to the facility over the course of a month and a half, almost two now since June 16. Not a single case [of coronavirus] has been reported. We have our own contact tracing system. There’s no other business that is doing that. Not a single one.”
“So, we are going to stay open,” Smith reiterated, “and we are going to stay open no matter what he does because it’s now time to show the world how far this government will go to enforce its will. They are not even trying to work with us.”
Smith then spoke more on last night’s hearing, explaining that “The hearing last night, as I said, it was a five-to-one decision. In that big package of information that they gave, they’re justifying closing us down by using open criminal charges that have not been resolved yet. So we haven’t even been found guilty of these offenses. And they’re using them as justification to shut us down as if we have been convicted. Not to mention the fact that those are open cases and we can’t speak on them. So we can’t even defend ourselves. Because we have to plead the fifth because there’s an ongoing case going on and anything that we say in a town hall meeting [can be used against us].”
“The worst part is that that is done by design,” Smith elaborated. “Show us some evidence. Show some evidence that Atilis Bellmawrk poses a threat to the public. Because, as of right now, you have no evidence showing that. You just had conclusionary statements by people in power, who have not done their homework. You have a conclusion or you have a conclusionary statement, that is a health department shut down by Judith Persichilli, who has never been within 10 miles of my facility, has never even bothered to look. And she said that we pose a threat to the general public. How is that okay? It’s a conclusionary statement by a person in a position of power that is abusing that position of power and making what they say decreed. These people are not rulers, they are not kings and queens. When they speak, it does not mean that that is factual. They need to back their statements up and they do not. And they will not because they can’t.”
Waiting On The Science
“We’re waiting on the science,” Smith stated again, “and we’ll be waiting on science and we’ll be requesting that science in court.”
“Yeah, it’s not easy, and it’s not fun,” Smith said of their battle, “and we’re gonna get in more trouble and we might end up doing prison time. I’m standing up for what’s right. And I’m standing up for not only myself and my family and my loved ones and my friends, but I’m standing up for everybody because if they can do this to Frank and me, they will do it to others later. We’ve seen that played out so many times in history. It’s not gonna happen on my watch.”
Here’s When We’ll Shut Down
Smith then revealed when he and Trumbetti would be willing to shut down their facility for the time being.
“We even said- and I’ll say it publicly and we’ll say it in court, and we will be saying in court along with our request for the science: if you can show us that science, we will shut down without a doubt,” Smith boldly stated.
“But until you show us that science,” Smith added, “we will not shut down. Show us the science that makes a martial arts studio safer than my fitness facility. Come in, inspect the facility, have an independent person come in, do an assessment on my business and 50 other businesses, and have that independent person- have three of them- and we’ll raise the money. I’ll pay for it at this point.”
“Let’s prove it,” Smith wrapped with telling us. “Let’s make it indisputable. I’m that confident and so is Frank. That would be the rational thing to do.”
As he’s proven before, one thing remains certain- even though the Government continues to battle him, Smith is standing his ground and will not go down without continuing to fight.