A lawsuit filed by Paul Romano, a retired Air Force Sergeant and Vietnam veteran, and Susan Douglas, a longtime civic activist and organizer, seeks to halt the UFC Freedom 250 event from happening. The event is scheduled for June 14 on the South Lawn of the White House.
In a press release, the event was described as “a corrupt scheme to hand the White House South Lawn and Lincoln Memorial to a private, for-profit sports promoter in violation of federal law.”
Lead attorney in the case Samuel T. Ward-Packard of the Public Integrity Project said “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.”
“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.” Additionally, a weigh-in for fighters is scheduled for the night before, and is set to occur at the Lincoln Memorial.”
According to the filing, it’s prohibited to host sporting events on federal parklands. Additionally, there was no congressional authorization for the building of “The Claw” as required for building on federal parklands. The lawsuit also cites potential costs to taxpayers.
“The President arranged to hand two of America’s most cherished monuments to a private corporation so he and his allies could profit from them. That is corruption,” plaintiff Susan Douglas stated. “These monuments belong to all of us Americans, not to Dana White, not to advertisers like Crypto.com, and not to Donald Trump. We’re asking the court to enforce the law because the administration refuses to.”
The plaintiffs are in the process of filing for a temporary restraining order which would halt the event while the courts reviewed the case.
