A lawsuit filed by the Public Integrity Project seeks to stop the upcoming UFC match on the White House South Lawn for President Trump’s 80th birthday and the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of two Virginia residents claims that the Trump administration’s hosting of the UFC match is unlawful, per the New York Post.
The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.
Crews are erecting an octagon-shaped cage on the South Lawn. Trump has said the finished UFC project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.” Additional large screens broadcasting the fights will be set up in a park at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC has said it plans to issue as many as 85,000 free tickets to accommodate spectators at both locations.
The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest project in the White House building boom Trump is leading.
Brendan Ballou, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, declared that the event is “a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain.”
The White House denounced the lawsuit as an “obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory” attempt to halt the UFC match, calling it “no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year.”