For up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 coronavirus, including prevention and treatment, please visit CDC.gov.

Overview

The Clearwater Gym Protest refers to a demonstration organized by the "Open Tampa Bay" Facebook group at the Pinellas County Courthouse in Tampa, Florida to speak against the government-sanctioned stay-at-home orders to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Video of the protest, which focused on re-opening gyms and recreation centers, featured participants exercising, performing squats and push-ups before the courthouse, which many online mocked.

Background

On May 11th, 2020, the Open Tampa Bay Facebook page announced the protest.^[1] They wrote, "Today we will be joining Travis and his Amped Fitness team at the Pinellas County Courthouse at 10AM! All are encouraged to join us!" The group also included a protest sign that reads, "Give me GAINS or give me death! #OpenTampaBay" (shown below).

Developments

That day, the group posted videos of the protest. They wrote, "We’re here at the Pinellas County Courthouse where the CEO of Amped Fitness is protesting unjust laws that are hurting small businesses" (shown below, left and right).

Online Reaction

That morning, WFLA News posted helicopter video of the protest. They wrote, "Protesters calling for gyms to reopen in Florida are doing squats and push-ups outside the Clearwater courthouse." The post received more than 16.7 million views, 25,000 likes and 7,400 retweets in less than two days (shown below).

WATCH: Protesters calling for gyms to reopen in Florida are doing squats and push-ups outside the Clearwater courthouse https://t.co/3BVzxHQPEJ #Florida #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/3cjgQ6kaM8

— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) May 11, 2020

Many online mocked the protest. Twitter^[2] user @summerasana responded to the video, "IF YOU CAN DO SQUATS AND PUSH UPS ON THE SIDEWALK, YOU CAN DO THEM IN YOUR LIVING ROOM AND DON’T NEED TO BE AT THE GYM, YOU ABSOLUTE DING DONGS." The tweet received more than 18,000 likes and 945 retweets in less than two days (shown below, left).

Twitter user @XLNB tweeted^[3] a Fresh Prince as the reaction to the caption "'WE’RE GOING TO SHOW YOU WHY GYMS NEED TO REOPEN BY DOING EXERCISES THAT DONT NEED A GYM TO BE DONE!' Everyone with a brain." . The post received more than 1,700 likes and 145 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, center).

The following day, the Facebook^[5] account TheGoodLordAbove wrote, "So they proved they don’t need a gym then?" The post recieved more than 3,700 reactions, 480 comments and 315 shares in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

That day, Redditor ^[4] User_Cero posted about the protest in the /r/FloridaMan subreddit. The post received more than 3,000 points (98% upvoted) in less than 24 hours

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the protest including, BuzzFeed, ^[6] Insider,^[7] The Cut,^[8] The Daily Dot ^[9] and more.

External References