The UFC Freedom 250 fight, set to take place at the White House, may be in jeopardy as a new lawsuit seeks to stop the event.
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According to CNN, the lawsuit was filed over the weekend by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of a veteran and a civil activist. In the filing, the Public Integrity Project argued the structure set up on the White House grounds was not authorized without congressional approval or environmental review.
It was also argued that such use of the White House grounds for a “private, for-profit sports event, with all the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access,” is going to benefit UFC President Dana White and President Trump financially.
The Public Integrity Project backed its claims by citing a report showing that President Trump bought $50,000 of stock in TKO, UFC’s parent company, earlier this year.
The organization also pushed back on the Trump administration’s claim that the UFC fight falls under Congress’s authorization for events celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.
“[It] is not in any material sense a ‘celebration’ of the 250th anniversary of American Independence,” the lawsuit states. Instead, the event is described as a “celebration” of the UFC’s brand and “the 80th anniversary of Donald Trump’s birth.”
The lawsuit further cites the UFC selling VIP packages for $1 million and $1.5 million.
The Lawsuit’s Plaintiff Speaks Out
The UFC fight is set to take place on June 14. The fighters’ weigh-in is at the Lincoln Memorial the day before.
In a statement, the lawsuit’s plaintiff, Paul Romano, a retired Air Force sergeant and Vietnam veteran, slammed the weigh-in taking place at the Lincoln Memorial.
“The Lincoln Memorial is sacred ground, and it honors everyone who has ever worn this country’s uniform,” Romano stated. “Using it as a backdrop for a for-profit cage fight so the President and his friends can make money is a desecration.”
Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project, describes the high-profile event as a “profoundly corrupt scheme to enrich the President and his friends.”
“If this fight is allowed to proceed, it will be only the beginning,” Ballou said. “And our national monuments will become little more than branding opportunities for the rich and well-connected.”
Along with the UFC fight lawsuit, the Trump administration is being sued to stop the construction of a triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.