-ALSO ARRESTED.
IAN SMITH -- HE WAS ALSO
ARRESTED.
IAN SMITH, ATLAS GYM CO-OWNER,
IT IS GREAT TO SEE YOU, IAN.
>> THANK YOU.
DAGEN: YOUR REACTION TO THIS
REPORT, LOCKDOWNS SHOULD BE
REJECTED OUT OF HAND.
>> THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN
REJECTED FROM THE START.
IT WAS A TERRIBLE POLICY FROM
THE IF BEGINNING, AND IT’S
INCREDIBLE THAT IT’S TAKEN
ALMOST TWO YEARS TO HAVE SOME
CREDIBLE STUDIES DONE ON THIS.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE
COMMON PERSON, THE COMMON
CITIZEN, THE SMALL BUSINESS
OWNERS AND THE PEOPLE WHO WERE
DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY LOCKDOWNS
IN THE BEGINNING KNEW FROM THE
ONSET.
THE FACT THAT WALMART AND BIG
BOX WAS JUST ALLOWED TO OPERATE
WITH IMPUNITY, AND WE HAD AN
ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SET OF RULES
FOR SMALL BUSINESSES WAS MORE
THAN ENOUGH TO GET PEOPLE
THINKING AND RESEARCHING.
THIS COMES AS NO SURPRISE TO
ANYBODY WHO’S BEEN PAYING
ATTENTION, AND THAT GOES FOR
PARENTS, TOO, WHO HAVE BEEN
WATCHING THEIR KIDS SUFFER FOR
TWO YEARS.
DAGEN: AND AS I JUST SAID, YOU
LITERALLY KICKED THE DOORS IN
WHEN THE GOVERNMENT IN NEW
JERSEY TRIED TO SHUT YOU DOWN.
YOU WERE ARRESTED.
>> YEAH.
YOU KNOW, MY BUSINESS PARTNER
AND I SHUT DOWN ORIGINALLY
BECAUSE WE DID NOT KNOW ENOUGH
TO CONFIDENTLY STAY OPEN, BUT WE
HAD A HUNCH THAT WE WEREN’T
BEING GIVEN THE CORRECT
INFORMATION.
AND ONCE WE STARTED LOOKING, WE
FOUND IT.
AND WE OPENED WITH A VERY SOUND
AND VERY ROBUST SAFETY PROTOCOL
THAT, TO DATE, HAS GIVEN US
350,000 VISITS WITHOUT A SINGLE
CASE OF COVID LINKED TO OUR
FACILITY.
AND WHEN THE STATE CAME BACK AND
DIDN’T WANT TO REASON WITH US,
THAT WAS EVERY ANSWER THAT WE
NEEDED ABOUT THEIR INTENT.
SO WHEN THEY TRIED TO SHUT US
DOWN, WE MADE SURE THAT THAT WAS
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN UNDER ANY
CIRCUMSTANCE.
DAGEN: DID YOU GO TO COURT OVER
THE ARREST?
DID YOU ACTUALLY -- YOU GOT
PROBATION?
>> YES.
SO WE ARE ACTUALLY IN FOUR
DIFFERENT COURTS.
WE FINALLY WRAPPED UP THE
CRIMINAL PORTION OF COURT WHICH
WAS, WE WERE CHARGED WITH SEVEN
COUNTS OF CRIMINAL CONTEMPT OF
COURT.
WE PLED GUILTY BECAUSE THE COURT
CASE IS NOT WORTH FIGHTING, IT’S
EXPENSIVE, TIME CONSUMING, AND
WE HAVE OTHER BATTLES TO FIGHT
MOVING FORWARD, SO WE PLED
GUILTY AND WE RECEIVED ONE YEAR
PROBATION FROM THE CRIME OF
REMOVING OUR DOORS FROM THE
HINGES TO HINDER THE STATE FROM
LOCKING THEM AGAIN.
DAGEN: WHERE’S THE PHONE CALL
SAYING THEY’RE SORRY?
YOU KNOW WHAT?
DAGEN: WHERE IS THEM DROPPING
THE PROBATION?
DID YOU PAY FINES?
WHAT ABOUT RETURNING, MAKING
RESTITUTION TO YOU.
YOU WAITING FOR THAT?
>> YOU KNOW, I WON’T HOLD MY
BREATH, BUT FRANK AND I HAVE THE
FULL INTENTION TO SEE ALL THE A
WAY THROUGH, AND WE WILL BE
WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH COURT.
WE WERE FINED $15,497.76 PER DAY
FOR EVERY DAY THAT WE WERE IN
OPERATION.
WE HAD MONEY SEIZED FROM US, WE
HAD OUR BUSINESS LICENSE TAKEN
AND IS A WHOLE OTHER, A WHOLE
SLEW OF ORE PUNISHMENTS, ALL OF
WHICH I HIGHLY DOUBT GOVERNOR
MURPHY WILL EVER APOLOGIZE FOR
BUT, YOU KNOW, SUCH IS THE WAY
FOR THE COMMON POLITICIAN THESE
DAYS.
THEY’LL LET THIS GO THROUGH THE
NEWS, AND THEY’LL JUST SLOWLY
BACK OFF A BIT AND FIND THE NEXT
CRISIS TO GET PEOPLE RILED UP
ABOUT.
DAGEN: BUT DO YOU THINK THAT THE
POLITICIANS -- HOW, HOW WE
TRUSTED THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE
IS BEYOND ME.
I WAS CERTAINLY GUILTY OF IT,
AND I MEAN THAT FOR ALL
POLITICIANS.
BUT WILL THEY LEARN?
ARE THEY -- WILL THEY REPEAT
THIS MISTAKE AGAIN?
>> I DON’T THINK IT’S A MATTER
OF LEARNING FOR MOST OF THESE
POLITICIANS.
I THINK, I THINK GOVERNOR MURPHY
AND GAVIN NEWSOM AND THE
CHAMPIONS OF THE LOCKDOWNS,
BECAUSE THERE WERE SEVERAL OF
THEM, KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THEY
WERE DOING.
THESE AREN’T PARTICULARLY -- I
DON’T THINK THESE PEOPLE ARE
STUPID.
I THINK THESE PEOPLE KNEW WHAT
THEY WERE DOING, AND THEY HAD AN
OBJECTIVE THAT WAS CONVENIENTLY
CLOAKED BEHIND THE VIRTUE SIGNAL
OF THE COVID LOCKDOWNS AND ALL
OF THESE MEASURES THAT THEY PUT
IN PLACE.
DAGEN: BEFORE WE GO --
[LAUGHTER]
I JUST DISPARAGED ALL
POLITICIANS, BUT -- BECAUSE I
READ "THE NEW YORK POST," I KNOW
THIS, YOU’VE DECIDED TO RUN FOR
CONGRESS.
>> YEAH.
I WILL BE FORMALLY ANNOUNCING
TOMORROW.
DAGEN: IN NEW JERSEY.
IF.
>> YES, MA’AM.
DAGEN: OKAY.
COME BACK, WE’LL TALK ABOUT IT.
>> I ABSOLUTELY WILL.