A federal judge refused to halt the UFC Freedom 250 cage fights set for this weekend at the White House, despite a lawsuit that called the event a “volcano of corruption” that will mark “the first private, for-profit sporting event ever held on White House grounds.”
In a ruling on Friday, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama appointee, said he rejected the plaintiffs’ emergency application because they failed “to establish both a substantial likelihood of standing and irreparable harm, and because the equities and public interest weigh against emergency relief.”
The case was brought by activist Susan Douglas and Vietnam War veteran Paul Romano, who challenged the use of the Lincoln Memorial chamber and the south lawn of the White House. Represented by the Public Integrity Project, they alleged the event runs afoul of federal regulations and isn’t the purely patriotic display that President Donald Trump and UFC head Dana White have portrayed.
The plaintiffs said it will “feature million-dollar VIP packages, brand placement opportunities adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial, and an exclusive broadcast on the President’s favored streaming service.” The streaming service they referred to is Paramount Plus, noting in their complaint that the UFC’s broadcast partner, Paramount Skydance, is run by Trump allies Larry and David Ellison and “has decided that no American will be able to take in this ‘celebration of America’ without first paying $8.99 plus tax for a Paramount Plus streaming subscription.”
Calling the event a “volcano of corruption,” the plaintiffs said that it “will mark an inflection point in American history.” They added, “The images it generates will one day appear in the history books — and not in the chapters about times remembered fondly.”
White said the goal is to “celebrate the 250th birthday of America” in putting on the fights among professional mixed martial artists on the south lawn of the White House in a massive structure called “the Claw.”
The plaintiffs noted the event coincides with Trump’s 80th birthday on Sunday and that White is a close friend and ally of the president. They said Trump is giving White and his company “what none have enjoyed before: unfettered access to the White House and Lincoln Memorial to stage a private, for-profit sports event, with all the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access.”
Douglas and Romano added that Trump stands to benefit directly, citing reporting that earlier this spring he bought stock in the company that owns the UFC.