A few hours after workouts began Monday morning at New Jersey’s Atilis Gym — which is making national headlines for its early reopening in defiance of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s coronavirus shutdown order — police showed up outside the Bellmawr business.
What happened next?
The large group of people outside the gym were angry and hostile, likely believing the officers showed up to shut down the gym, hand out tickets, or even make arrests. Amid the mostly unintelligible hollering, a few phrases rang out clearly:
- “You have the right to refuse unconstitutional orders!”
- “Freedom!”
- “You swore an oath to protect our rights!”
Soon enough the crowd quieted down enough so that one of the officers was able to address them.
“We are and we’re only here for everybody’s safety today,” the officer began. “We planned for the worst, hoped for the best, and it seems like that’s what we have out here today. Formally, you are all in violation of the executive order.”
Then came the officer’s surprising follow-up statement: “On that note, have a good day. Everybody be safe.”
As police turned and walked away, the crowd immediately erupted in the kind of cheering you’d expect after a Philadelphia Eagles’ game-winning touchdown — and then a hefty “USA! USA! USA!” chant soon followed:
Glenn mentioned this story earlier, but here’s the video of the Bellmawr policeman’s speech and the crowd’s reaction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9BgG3GjzlQ