A lawsuit filed Saturday against the federal government asks a judge to stop an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House lawn scheduled this week.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The suit, which the Public Integrity Project, a watchdog group, filed on behalf of two plaintiffs, is another incident in which private citizens or activist groups have tried to stymie projects championed by President Donald Trump.The event, a fight night purportedly in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary, is scheduled for June 14, Trump’s birthday.The lawsuit says UFC CEO Dana White, a longtime Trump ally who was a campaign surrogate for him, has denied that the event’s timing is a birthday celebration for Trump.But, the suit says, White acknowledged that the fight was Trump’s idea.In the lead-up to the event, a 92-foot-tall, 600-ton fighting ring dubbed “The Claw” has been erected on the White House’s South Lawn.The suit says the fight is “private” and “for-profit,” and it alleges that even though the UFC claims it is “eating” the cost of the event and isn’t selling tickets, “the event will likely be profitable for the UFC and its partners.”The suit names the National Park Service and members of its leadership, as well as the Interior Department and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, as defendants.
The Public Integrity Project filed the suit on behalf of two plaintiffs, Susan Douglas, an activist, and Paul Romano, a Vietnam War veteran, who claim in the filing that they are suffering “aesthetic” and “procedural harms” as a result of the planned event.The White House and the National Park Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The UFC, which is not named as a defendant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The White House was promoting the event Sunday night on X, posting a video of “The Claw” being built alongside clips o...