A federal judge declined on Friday to prevent the White House from staging a UFC event this weekend, featuring an elaborate arena already constructed on the South Lawn to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
Ruling Allows UFC Event to Proceed
US District Judge Amit Mehta’s decision permits organizers to use the White House grounds for Sunday’s planned UFC mixed martial arts show. The lawsuit, filed by the non-profit Public Integrity Project on behalf of an activist and a Vietnam War veteran, sought to block the event and any construction on White House property, including a 92-foot-tall, 600-ton steel structure called The Claw.
White House Defends Event
The White House dismissed the lawsuit as an unfounded attempt to stop Trump from hosting an event similar to many others routinely held at public venues in Washington. Plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that Trump’s administration cannot legally issue permits for sporting events on the South Lawn or at the Lincoln Memorial, where UFC fighters planned a press conference on Friday. They emphasized that the event is a privately organized, for-profit venture, with VIP packages costing millions of dollars.
“The President’s administration is granting the UFC an extraordinary business opportunity it may not lawfully grant, and in exchange the UFC is throwing an event at which its leadership, fighters, advertisers, and various celebrities will all pay tribute to the President on his birthday,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote.
Legal Context
The National Park Service and the Interior Department are named as defendants. Judge Mehta, nominated by Barack Obama, has presided over other Trump-related cases, including civil litigation accusing Trump of inciting the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Trump, a Republican, has a long-standing friendship with UFC President and CEO Dana White, and in 2019 he became the first sitting president to attend a UFC event.
