Plaintiffs call UFC 250 event a ‘volcano of corruption’ in bid to halt White House fights
A “volcano of corruption” is what plaintiffs suing to stop this weekend’s UFC fights at the White House called the planned event, telling a judge that President Donald Trump and his allies are poised to profit “from the first private, for-profit sporting event ever held on White House grounds.”
The stark portrayal comes in the final court filing before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama appointee in Washington, decides whether to let the event proceed as planned.
“The event will feature million-dollar VIP packages, brand placement opportunities adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial, and an exclusive broadcast on the President’s favored streaming service,” plaintiffs Susan Douglas and Paul Romano told the judge.
The streaming service they referred to is Paramount Plus, noting in their complaint that the UFC’s broadcast partner, Paramount Skydance, is run by Trump allies Larry and David Ellison and “has decided that no American will be able to take in this ‘celebration of America’ without first paying $8.99 plus tax for a Paramount Plus streaming subscription.”
“Such a volcano of corruption, if allowed to go forward, will mark an inflection point in American history,” they said. Douglas, an activist, and Romano, a Vietnam War veteran, alleged that the government’s planned event runs afoul of federal regulations.
“The images it generates will one day appear in the history books — and not in the chapters about times remembered fondly,” the plaintiffs said of the activities set to culminate with professional mixed martial artists fighting on Sunday on the White House’s South Lawn in a massive structure built for the event, known as “the Claw.”
Douglas and Romano are challenging the use of the Lincoln Memorial and the South Lawn for the event, which Trump and UFC head Dana White have said is a celebration of America. The plaintiffs noted that the event coincides with Trump’s 80th birthday on Sunday and that White is a close friend and ally of the president’s. They said Trump is giving White and his company “what none have enjoyed before: unfettered access to the White House and Lincoln Memorial to stage a private, for-profit sports event, with all the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access.”
Douglas and Romano added that Trump stands to benefit directly, citing reporting that he bought stock in the company that owns the UFC earlier this spring.
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Jordan Rubin is the Deadline: Legal Blog writer. He was a prosecutor for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and is the author of “Bizarro,” a book about the secret war on synthetic drugs. Before he joined MS NOW, he was a legal reporter for Bloomberg Law.
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