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A lawsuit has been filed in an attempt to halt the UFC event scheduled to take place on the White House grounds. Just a week before the highly anticipated UFC gala at the White House, legal action threatens the event's proceedings.
A press release obtained by mmafighting.com on Sunday announced a lawsuit filed by Paul Romano, a retired Air Force sergeant and Vietnam veteran, and Susan Douglas, a long-time civil activist and organizer. Both plaintiffs aim to “preserve Washington’s monumental spaces.”
The lawsuit describes the UFC White House event as a “corrupt scheme to provide the White House South Lawn and the Lincoln Memorial to a private sports promoter for profit, in violation of federal law.”
“The event, scheduled for June 14, was conceived by President Trump and organized by UFC CEO Dana White, a close personal ally of Trump, and will bring financial benefits to both,” wrote Samuel T. Ward-Packard of the "Public Integrity Project," who is the lead attorney on the case.
“Earlier this spring, Trump purchased up to $50,000 worth of shares in UFC’s parent company, TKO, while White’s company is selling VIP packages for $1.5 million each and capitalizing on what one TKO executive called “the greatest marketing tool of all time.” Additionally, the official fighter weigh-ins are scheduled for the evening before the event and are set to take place in front of the Lincoln Memorial.”
The complaint focuses on three “illegal” grounds. The first is a violation of agreements with the National Park Service, which prohibit sports events on federal parkland, with plaintiffs arguing the case does not fall under any permissible regulatory exceptions. The second is that “The Claw” – part of the stage structure for the White House lawn event – lacks congressional authorization, a requirement for construction on federal park lands. Finally, the complaint highlights the potential taxpayer costs for repairing the South Lawn.
“The President has arranged for two of America’s most cherished monuments to be handed over to a private corporation so he and his allies can profit from them. This is corruption,” stated plaintiff Susan Douglas. “These monuments belong to all of us Americans, not to Dana White, not to advertisers like Crypto.com, and not to Donald Trump. We are asking the court to enforce the law because the administration refuses to do so.”
According to the press release, the plaintiffs are in the process of filing a request for a temporary restraining order. If granted, this could effectively halt the event while the court reviews the facts of the case.
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