All Charges Dropped Against Ian Smith of Atilis Gym

One of the more notable business owners who fought against the lockdown during COVID has finally met justice.

This weekend, Ian Smith announced that the more than 80 citations his business received in New Jersey have been dropped.

The case against him was dismissed with prejudice, so the state cannot come back at him by refiling.

Out of Trouble

The gym, which is located in Bellmawr, New Jersey, gained national attention when it reopened against the directive given by Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat.

Smith kept his gym open against the directive, which first started resulting in fines.

Eventually, the police were sent to lock down the gym and arrest Smith, turning him into a cult hero of sorts during the pandemic.

In addition to being locked up, $165,000 in assets were seized, which Smith described, “Governor Phil Murphy seized 100% of our assets today – $165k, all of which came from donations and apparel sales.”

Smith announced the big win on X, posting, “ALL OF THE 80+ municipal citations of violations of a governor's order, public nuisance, disturbing the peace, and operating without a license against us have been dropped by the courts WITH prejudice. This means the State has NO ability to revisit or refile these charges.

“This 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 lackeys.”

The post gets a bit more colorful towards the end, which is why I am not directly posting it here.

This case is far bigger than Smith, however, and I am sure we will see a slew of lawsuits from other businesses filed now that Smith has opened this door.

I would suspect that businesses will not only sue to recover fines issued, but this could also open the door around the country to suing the government for business lost due to an unconstitutional shutdown order, which will be a problem for both Biden and Trump.

Remember, these initial shutdown orders came via the “15 Days to Slow the Spread” campaign that started during the Trump administration, so Trump is not out of the boiling pot on this one.

We will continue to follow and update on more cases as they are posted.