OXFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - A Massachusetts judge has granted the town of Oxford the power to shut down Prime Fitness & Nutrition, Inc. weeks after it started welcoming back customers in defiance of Gov. Charlie Baker’s four-phased reopening plan.
Dave Blondin, the gym’s owner, was ordered held in contempt by Judge Susan Sullivan during an appearance in Worcester Superior Court on Tuesday.
“I am ordering Oxford to close the place,” Sullivan said. “Our real concern is public safety…This behavior needs to stop. I’m not looking to punish. Civil contempt is not about punishment, it’s about coercion.”
Blondin has made it clear that he has no intention of closing the doors to his gym.
He has racked up thousands of dollars in fines for violating Baker’s reopening plan and has stated that he is prepared to go to jail if necessary.
“Potentially arrested — it’s 100 percent worth it. I do not care about that, that does not scare me. If they think that it’s going to scare me, then they can go right ahead and do so,” Blondin said.
Blondin’s attorneys say their client will leave the gym if the town orders it to close but that he can’t compel others to leave the building.
Gyms cannot reopen until Phase 3 of Baker’s plan, which at the earliest could begin on June 29.
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