Watch: Rep Andy Biggs of AZ Gets Straight Scoop from Founder of Phoenix Gym Snared in Closure Order

By Becca Lower | 5:00 PM on July 02, 2020

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AP featured image — A woman walks out of a liquor store past a sign requesting its customers to wear a mask Tuesday, June 23, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif. The state Department of Public Health recorded more than 5,000 new cases Tuesday, putting the total number of positive cases at more than 183,000. The state has seen more than 5,500 deaths related to COVID-19. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

There are new developments in the story of the Phoenix-based gym founder and CEO who stood in defiance of Arizona’s governor over what he calls “arbitrary decisions” on business closures in the state that violate Americans’ civil liberties.

As I previously reported, Tom Hatten of Mountainside Fitness announced at a press conference that not only wouldn’t his Valley health clubs close as required by the order, but his company, along with others snared in it, would file a lawsuit to stay Republican governor Doug Ducey’s executive order.

The news came after Gov. Ducey ordered all bars, gyms, tubing rentals, and several, other non-essential businesses shuttered Monday evening, after an afternoon press conference on the Chinese plague.

As expected, on Tuesday the Scottsdale Police Department issued a citation to Hatten and his gym chain, as KNXV-TV reported, triggering the promised legal action:

Just hours after that citation was issued, the company officially filed a lawsuit to put the new executive order on hold.

Now, in a twist, local congressman Representative Andy Biggs (R) has shared the straight scoop on the update to the saga, by posting a video call he had with the Mountainside CEO. In the candid conversation, which clocks in at just over 20 minutes, Hatten talks about the dire consequences of government putting its hand on the scales of the free market, working hand in hand with what Cong. Biggs calls “the Fauci-Birx Doctrine of Destruction”… and where he see things going from here.

In his tweet, Rep. Biggs writes:

WATCH: Tom Hatten, CEO of @Mountainsidefit, is fighting back against Arizona’s unconstitutional taking of business operations. I had the chance to talk to him about his lawsuit against AZ & his commitment to our community & member health.

You can watch the whole thing below:

WATCH: Tom Hatten, CEO of @Mountainsidefit, is fighting back against Arizona’s unconstitutional taking of business operations.

I had the chance to talk to him about his lawsuit against AZ & his commitment to our community & member health. https://t.co/nu4rgc0wcM

— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) July 1, 2020