(TargetLiberty.org) – Judge Andrew Napolitano, who served as a New Jersey Superior Court judge and a professor at Brooklyn Law School, was talking to Fox and Friends on Tuesday when the discussion turned dark. The topic at hand? Governor Phil Murphy’s apparent vendetta against the actions of two upstanding Bellmawr, NJ gym owners.
New Jersey gym owners arrested for defying coronavirus shutdown order https://t.co/AkIie3VXsK pic.twitter.com/K3frspAsaA
— The Hill (@thehill) July 28, 2020
Apparently, the case began on May 18, when Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti reopened their gym in defiance of Murphy’s lockdown order. Gyms in the state were ordered to shut down in mid-March for what Murphy said would be a 14-day closure. Nearly two months later, Smith and Trumbetti had had enough; they reopened with stringent social-distancing requirements, keeping customers up to 25 feet apart.
Murphy was furious. The police were sent to the business multiple times. Then, the governor tried to have utilities turned off, only to have utility companies refuse to comply. Afterward, Murphy ordered a locksmith to break into the gym and change the locks. The owners responded by hiring a locksmith of their own to reinstall new ones. Lastly, Smith and Trumbetti were arrested for contempt of court.
Judge Napolitano told Fox that Murphy has dismissed thousands of cases brought under his executive orders – but he’s pulled out all the stops to shut down the gym. The owners, however, still refuse to back down.
Smith says he keeps records of every visitor, and not one of them has been infected with the novel coronavirus. He also made another important point: “The 14th Amendment states that no state shall pass any law that infringes upon our rights as citizens… Enough is enough.”
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