Independent investigative journalist James O’Keefe was permanently banned from all Equinox gyms in the United States. The discipline came one day after he released a video report exposing Judge Arthur Engoron, who was accused of being a “creep” around girls.
O’Keefe, who previously founded Project Veritas and now runs his own operation called O’Keefe Media Group (OMG), announced via X on February 29 that he was “banned from Equinox for life.”
I’ve been banned from @Equinox for Life. They were really excited to tell me that. pic.twitter.com/lTvUn30wMk
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 29, 2024
In his post, O’Keefe included a video recording of his conversation with an employee at the Great Neck location of the fitness chain. The worker informed the journalist that, effective immediately, he was “officially house-canceled” and is prohibited from “ever joining any Equinox” from now on.
O’Keefe had previously been a member of the chain. When told he was banned, he asked why, only to be told, “just because” by the employee. O’Keefe repeated his request for an explanation, to which the employee said, “there’s no reason to be given.”
However, the employee did confirm that the business had seen the video report released by OMG the day before, in which O’Keefe confronted Judge Engoron, the presiding judge in the civil lawsuit brought against former president Donald Trump by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Engoron recently ruled that the leading GOP presidential candidate would have to pay $354 million in fines for fraudulent real estate investments.
In the undercover video that led to O’Keefe’s Equinox ban, the journalist approached Engoron at the fitness center in Great Neck, Long Island, prompted by allegations that the judge “creeps” on girls whenever he goes to the facility.
During the report, which was posted to X, O’Keefe tells the judge he’s a “huge fan” and says, “thank you for what you did,” referring to his ruling that prohibits Trump from managing businesses in New York for the next three years. The judge did not recognize O’Keefe from his previous exploits of other high-profile figures.
A clip previously submitted by an unnamed source shows Engoron speaking with a young woman who seems frustrated by the man and holds up her hand in a gesture for him to leave her alone. The same source told O’Keefe in a recorded report on X that Engoron will intentionally “go up to any young girl possible” every time he is at the gym.
Though the initial interaction is typically friendly, according to the source, the women are “always…visibly upset” by the end of it. O’Keefe did not specifically ask Engoron about his alleged “creeping” while talking with him at the gym. However, the journalist issued a call for women who have felt the same way to share their experiences.
