Atilis Gym Won't Reopen This Weekend After Court Upholds Shutdown Order, Owners Call Gov. Murphy 'Slimeball'
BELLMAWR, N.J. (CBS) - The owners of a South Jersey gym say they won't be reopening this weekend after a judge granted a request from Gov. Murphy to shut down the gym. Atilis Gym in Bellmawr reopened on Monday and was open for several days in defiance of the governor's stay-at-home order.
After receiving the court order to shut down on Friday, Atilis Gym co-owner Ian Smith posted an Instagram video calling the governor a "slimeball" and called the health department's closure on Wednesday, "flimsy and bogus."
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"Slimeball Gov. Murphy pulled a fast one on us at the end of the day, and put a court order in to a state judge, who is of course going to uphold state wishes, for us to be shutdown via the health department," Smith said.
The gym was shut down by the health department Wednesday night due to plumbing issues. The owners say their bathrooms flooded after their toilets were clogged by paper towels, something they called suspicious.
The owners have been cited several times for reopening. Some members have also been cited.
"Please ride this out with us. It's not going to be easy. Gov. Murphy is pulling out all the dirty political tricks that he can possibly do. He is definitely running scared because he running out options," Smith said.
Smith says the gym will be closed at least until Tuesday.
He says their legal team is filing a federal case against Gov. Murphy on Tuesday, claiming they have been robbed of due process and violated their constitutional rights.
"We should, if all goes well, be open on Wednesday," Smith said. "Hang tight, stay with us. We are in this for the long haul. It's not about the battle, it's about the war and we are definitely winning."
