Lawsuit aims to stop UFC fight at the White House

Two Virginia residents have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the UFC fight President Donald Trump is holding at the White House as part of celebrations for the nation’s 250th birthday.

The lawsuit, filed Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of a Vietnam War veteran and a civic activist, argues the structure erected on the White House grounds is not authorized without congressional approval or environmental review.

It also argues the use of the White House grounds “to stage a private, for-profit sports event, with all the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access” will financially benefit UFC President Dana White and Trump himself, citing a report in the spring that Trump bought $50,000 in stock in UFC’s parent company.

The lawsuit pushes back on the assertion from the administration that the Ultimate Fighting Championship match falls under the authorization from Congress for events to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, saying the event “is not in any material sense a ‘celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence’—it is, instead, a celebration of the UFC’s brand and the 80th anniversary of Donald Trump’s birth.”

CNN has reached out to the White House and UFC for comment on the lawsuit.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to respond by Tuesday evening to the lawsuit.

US District Judge Amit P. Mehta, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, has not set a hearing, though he could order both sides to appear before him in coming days to make their arguments in person. The Virginia residents challenging the event had asked the court to make a decision on their request by Thursday.

The White House South Lawn event, set for June 14, coincides with Trump’s 80th birthday. A weigh-in for the fighters is set for the day before at the Lincoln Memorial.

“The Lincoln Memorial is sacred ground, and it honors everyone who has ever worn this country’s uniform,” plaintiff Paul Romano, a retired Air Force sergeant and Vietnam veteran, said in a news release. “Using it as a backdrop for a for-profit cage fight so the President and his friends can make money is a desecration.”

The lawsuit cited reports that UFC is selling VIP packages for between $1 million and $1.5 million as part of the complaint White and Trump are using the opportunity for financial gain.

Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project, called the event a “profoundly corrupt scheme to enrich the President and his friends.”

“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,” he said.

Construction crews are building a fight cage on the South Lawn for the June 14 event, and the White House is now dwarfed by a massive arched lighting grid, which the Ultimate Fighting Championship calls “The Claw.”

Trump has said the event will be “the greatest show on Earth.”

This story has been updated with additional information.