Lawsuit Looks to Shut Down Donald Trump’s ‘UFC Freedom 250’ Fight
Two Virginia residents have taken legal action by filing a lawsuit in an attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s plans to host a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration.
The lawsuit, which has been examined by Variety, targets the National Park Service and the United States Department of the Interior. It raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest for the President, alleging that the “UFC Freedom 250” event will financially benefit MAGA allies such as Paramount-Skydance CEO David Ellison, UFC CEO Dana White, and Trump himself. The lawsuit also claims that Trump recently acquired “up to $50,000 worth of stock in TKO, UFC’s owner.”
The crux of the legal argument revolves around the National Park Service’s typical permitting regulations, which state that “no special events of any kind, including sporting events, can be held on the South Lawn or at the Lincoln Memorial. Furthermore, structures cannot be erected on the South Lawn without explicit authorization from Congress and a comprehensive environmental review.”
The lawsuit acknowledges a potential loophole in the permitting regulations reserved for “special events planned, organized, and executed by executive departments and agencies or the Semiquincentennial Commission” in honor of America’s 250th birthday. However, the plaintiffs argue that the UFC event is a “private, for-profit sporting event” orchestrated by the UFC, its broadcast partners, and advertisers, rather than the federal government.
The lawsuit further contends, “And it 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.” Consequently, the plaintiffs assert that the UFC Freedom 250 event fails to meet the stringent criteria required for special semiquincentennial events to take place on the South Lawn or at the Lincoln Memorial.
