A federal lawsuit filed Saturday is seeking to halt the Ultimate Fighting Championship event planned for June 14 on the White House South Lawn, arguing the fight card violates federal law and improperly uses public property for private gain.
The lawsuit was filed by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents — a Vietnam War veteran and a civic activist. The plaintiffs contend the Trump administration unlawfully approved the event without congressional authorization or an environmental review and violated National Park Service regulations that generally prohibit sporting events on federal parkland.
The UFC event is scheduled to coincide with President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and is being promoted as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration. Crews are already constructing an octagon-shaped fight cage on the South Lawn, along with a massive arched lighting structure known as “The Claw.”
President Trump has said the event will feature a 5,000-seat arena on White House grounds. Additional viewing areas are planned at the nearby Ellipse, where UFC officials have said as many as 85,000 free tickets could be distributed.
The lawsuit argues the event is less a celebration of America’s founding than a promotion of the UFC brand and Trump’s birthday. Plaintiffs also allege the event could financially benefit UFC President Dana White and Trump himself. Court filings cite reports that Trump purchased stock in UFC’s parent company and that UFC is selling VIP packages reportedly priced between $1 million and $1.5 million.
“The Lincoln Memorial is sacred ground,” plaintiff Paul Romano, a retired Air Force sergeant and Vietnam veteran, said in a statement criticizing plans for a fighter weigh-in at the memorial on June 13. He called using the site as a backdrop for a for-profit sporting event a “desecration.”
Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project and attorney for the plaintiffs, described the event as “a profoundly corrupt scheme to enrich the President and his friends.”
The White House dismissed the lawsuit, calling it an “obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory” effort to block an event it says is comparable to other activities traditionally held on White House grounds and nearby federal spaces.
The lawsuit asks a federal court to stop the event before fight night. As of Sunday, construction continued at the White House, and neither the UFC nor the administration had indicated any plans to postpone or cancel the event.