PLANTATION, Fla. – Early Friday, Plantation police were parked outside of 1440 Fitness, letting members know the gym is closed and for now they’ll have to work out somewhere else.
The gym’s owner Mike Carnevale’s spent Thursday night in Broward County jail over his refusal to enforce the use of face masks inside his business.
This is the second time Plantation Police Department officers arrested Carnevale, 31, over a violation of Broward County’s emergency order, which requires people to wear face masks to help reduce the spread of the contagious disease.
Carnevale has said he doesn’t feel comfortable forcing the members of his gym to wear face masks while working out.
“Where do we draw the line? Where do we draw the lines? We’ve lost perspective, we’ve lost common sense,” Carnevale said in an interview last month.
Carnevale’s last arrest was in late July. Broward County court records show a pending civil case and a pending misdemeanor case.
“It’s kind of disappointing again that this is happening. This is the second time I’ve come here to try to work out and I’m hearing the owner of the gym got arrested again,” a member said.
According to the Florida Department of Health’s latest data, there are 60,058 coronavirus cases and 782 deaths in Broward County.