Lawsuit seeks to block UFC event at the White House
The White House is less than a week away from hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the South Lawn, but a newly filed federal lawsuit is trying to keep it from happening. The professional mixed martial arts event is being billed as a dual celebration for President Donald Trump's birthday and the 250th anniversary of American independence.
The lawsuit was filed Saturday in the District of Columbia by the Public Integrity Project and claims the event crosses the line because, according to reports from ESPN and other outlets indicate. The event is "headlined by Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje for the undisputed lightweight title." The Public Integrity Project is a public interest organization that serves as a watchdog for government ethics. The organization filed its lawsuit on behalf of two plaintiffs: Paul Romano of Springfield, Virginia, a retired Air Force sergeant and Vietnam War medevac veteran, and Susan Douglas of Alexandria, Virginia, a longtime civic activist and organizer, according to the Public Integrity Project.
The plaintiffs say they are suing "to preserve Washington's monumental spaces." Romano has specifically objected to the UFC event's 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. Using it as a backdrop for a for-profit cage fight so the President and his friends can make money is a desecration," he said in a statement.
The event goes beyond the grounds of the White House to the Ellipse on the south and Lafayette Park to the north. The lawsuit says actions by the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service should have included a congressional approval process. The Ellipse will serve as a public viewing area with large screens. Lafayette Park and the surrounding streets are being blocked off for security measures.
"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 benefit both men financially," the Public Integrity Project wrote in an announcement detailing the lawsuit. "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 filing claims "the Department of Interior and the National Park Service violated federal law by organizing a private sporting event on public property and failing to obtain congressional approval for the event's multiple construction sites," ESPN writes.
In other words, the claim is that event organizers did not go through the proper channels or process to host such an event.
"This is a profoundly corrupt scheme to enrich the President and his friends," Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project, said in a statement. "If this fight is allowed to proceed, it will be only the beginning, and our national monuments will become little more than branding opportunities for the rich and well-connected. We plan to stop that."
The White House defended the event, saying the UFC event is nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to special events and guests invited to the president's home.
"The White House said in a statement that the legal challenge was 'an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory' attempt to prevent Trump from hosting the fight," the Associated Press writes, "and that the event was 'no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year."
The permitting issue is complicated by overlapping authority over the White House grounds and nearby parkland.
The White House and President's Park, adjacent to the south lawn, are overseen by the National Park Service, but the agency rules also recognize the grounds as the president's home. The NPS superintendent compendium says agency actions may not conflict with the use of the buildings and grounds by the president and first family or for official presidential purposes.
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