Lawsuit Challenges Legality of Trump’s UFC Event at White House Next Week

A lawsuit filed in federal court this past weekend seeks to block the White House from hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) match on White House grounds next week, an event that would coincide with President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

The event, “UFC Freedom 250,” is set to occur on June 14. Although it is happening on Trump’s birthday, it is being billed as part of the administration’s planned celebrations for the country’s 250th birthday — despite the match not being authorized or approved by Congress. In preparation for the planned bout, a massive structure called “The Claw” has been erected on the South Lawn of the White House, where the event will take place. The structure surpasses the height of the White House.

The Public Integrity Project filed the lawsuit on behalf of two Virginia residents: Susan Douglas, a civic activist and self-identified Democrat; and Paul Romano, a Vietnam War veteran who has previously run for public office as a Republican.

The suit, which was filed in the District Court of Columbia, is seeking an emergency block on the event. Although the large structure is already built, the lawsuit seeks to forbid “organizers of UFC Freedom 250 to erect structures, including the so-called ‘Claw,’ on the South Lawn.”

In an explainer of the lawsuit on its website, Public Integrity Project lists three legal reasons why their challenge to the structure and event should prevail, alleging:

• The event violates National Park Service (NPS) regulations, including those that forbid sporting events to be held on lands administered by the agency;
• The construction of “The Claw” violates federal laws banning the building of structures on parklands in Washington, D.C., without congressional approval;
• And that the event is in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, which dictates that “major federal actions with significant environmental effects require a public environmental assessment or impact statement before proceeding,” according to the organization.

Public Integrity Project also notes that Trump, as well as UFC CEO Dana White, will likely personally financially benefit from the event.

“Trump purchased up to $50,000 in UFC parent company TKO stock earlier this spring, while White’s company is selling VIP packages for $1.5 million each, and benefiting from what one TKO executive called ‘the greatest earned-marketing tool of all time,’” the organization wrote.

In addition to the fight, a weigh-in for the bouts is set to happen at the Lincoln Memorial the night before. Public Integrity Project is seeking to block that from happening, too.

The two plaintiffs represented in the lawsuit also spoke about the event.

“The President arranged to hand two of America’s most cherished monuments to a private corporation so he and his allies could profit from them,” Douglas said. “That is corruption. These monuments belong to all of us Americans, not to Dana White, not to advertisers like Crypto.com, and not to Donald Trump.”

“The Lincoln Memorial is sacred ground, and it honors everyone who has ever worn this country’s uniform. Using it as a backdrop for a for-profit cage fight so the President and his friends can make money is a desecration,” Romano added.

Douglas and Romano aren’t the only people unhappy with the event. Indeed, a recent YouGov poll found that 51 percent of Americans disapprove of the UFC event that’s set to happen at the White House, while just 27 percent approve.