An Obama-appointed federal judge has rejected a last-minute legal challenge seeking to block President Donald Trumps plan to host a high-profile Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House grounds this weekend.
The mixed martial arts spectacle, branded UFC Freedom 250, will now proceed as scheduled on the South Lawn.
According to Gateway Pundit, US District Court Judge Amit Mehta issued a Friday order concluding that the Washington, DC residents who sued the National Park Service failed to show that halting the event served the public interest and that their unreasonable delay in filing the 11th-hour lawsuit undercuts their claims of irreparable harm.
Plaintiffs had argued that Trumps initiative is deeply corrupt and that it granted the Ultimate Fighting Championship unfettered access to the White House and Lincoln Memorial to benefit UFC CEO Dana White and Donald Trump financially.
They further alleged that using the South Lawn for a sporting event and constructing the temporary fight venue, which the White House and UFC refer to as The Claw, violates federal law and misuses historic federal property.
In particular, the UFC is erecting a 92-foot-tall, 600-ton steel structure it calls the Claw immediately adjacent to the Executive Residence, and is destroying much of the South Lawn in the process, the complaint claimed, in language that underscored the plaintiffs alarm over the scale of the project.
The White House, however, opened the site to reporters on Thursday, signaling confidence in both the legality and symbolism of the event as an unapologetic celebration of American strength and spectacle.
The fight card is set for Sunday, aligning deliberately with Flag Day and President Trumps birthday, a pairing that has drawn praise from supporters who see it as a patriotic showcase.
With the court refusing to intervene, critics of the event are left to wage their objections in the political arena, while the administration and UFC press ahead with UFC Freedom 250 as a high-visibility affirmation of executive authority and cultural influence.
Login