Two Virginia residents filed a lawsuit Saturday in hopes of blocking President Donald Trump’s plans to host a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
The lawsuit, reviewed by Variety, was filed against the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior. The lawsuit identifies several conflicts of interest for the president, alleging that the UFC Freedom 250 event will line the pockets of MAGA allies such as Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison and UFC CEO Dana White, as well as Trump himself. Trump also claims to have purchased “up to $50,000 worth of stock in UFC owner TKO” this year.
But the crux of the legal argument lies in the National Park Service’s regular permitting system, which states that “no special events of any kind, including sporting events, may be held on the South Lawn or at the Lincoln Memorial, and no structures may be erected on the South Lawn without the express permission of Congress and a thorough environmental review,” according to the complaint.
The complaint notes that there is a temporary workaround in the permit regime for “special events planned, organized, and executed by any executive branch or agency, or by the Semicentennial Commission” to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. But the lawsuit claims this is a “private commercial sporting event” planned by “UFC, its broadcast partners, and advertisers” and not the federal government.
“And this is not a ‘celebration of America’s 250th anniversary’ in any physical sense; instead, it is a celebration of the UFC brand and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday,” the lawsuit continues. “For these reasons, UFC Freedom 250 does not meet the stringent criteria that must be met for a special semi-quincennial event to be held on the South Lawn or the Lincoln Memorial.”
