The lockdown-defying New Jersey gym owner who is now running for Congress has been busted for alleged drunk driving — 15 years after he killed a teen in a drunken crash.
Ian Smith, who famously risked jail and financial ruin to keep his Atilis Gym in Bellmawr open throughout the pandemic, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday, he confirmed on Instagram Wednesday.
But Smith and his campaign team denied that he was driving drunk — and insist he only refused to comply with the cop’s requests because he feared a set-up.
“I was pulled over, passed a sobriety test (in poor conditions), and was arrested,” Smith insisted in his post.
“My choice to not submit to a breathalyzer reflects my distrust after 2 years of persecution,” insisted Smith, who has faced mammoth daily fines and mounting legal costs into the millions for keeping his gym open.
He was charged by Cinnaminson police with driving under the influence, refusing to take a breath test as well as reckless and careless driving, NJ.com confirmed. He was released with a court date set for April 14.
His campaign spokesman, Steve Kush, told the New Jersey Globe that the congressional candidate “doesn’t have much trust of the government after the persecution he’s received” from Gov. Phil Murphy.
Ian Smith plans to challenge two-term Rep. Andy Kim in New Jersey’s 3rd District. Instagram / @iansmithfitness
Smith has a social media presence around his opposition to the governor’s handling of COVID-19. Instagram/@iansmithfitness
Smith risked jail and financial ruin to keep his Atilis Gym open during the pandemic. RICHARD HARBUSHe also called on Cinnaminson police to release video of the stop, insisting it would show Smith passed the field sobriety tests, and that the gym owner’s truck would only have swerved because of high winds.
“Ian Smith was not driving drunk. Ian Smith is innocent,” Kush said in the statement. “Ian will have his day in court and will be vindicated.”
Cinnaminson Police Chief Richard Calabrese told NJ.com on Tuesday he had not seen the footage of the stop and could not comment on Smith’s claims.
“My choice to not submit to a breathalyzer reflects my distrust after 2 years of persecution,” said Smith. RICHARD HARBUS
Ian Smith is very open about his 2007 drunk driving crash. AP
Smith was released with a court date set for April 14. APSmith is challenging two-term Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, a former Obama White House staffer.
Even before his campaign, he has openly discussed his 2007 drunk driving crash that killed 19-year-old student Kevin Ade, which he said has generated “justifiably a great deal of hated and resentment towards me.”
“It’s something I accept full responsibility for,” he said in a video confessional in May 2020 of the crash when he was a 20-year-old student.
“My actions caused the death of a young man and broke the hearts of an entire community … There’s nothing that I can do other than try to live a good life and give back,” he said in the video.
