Judge Amit P. Mehta Rejects Lawsuit Blocking UFC Freedom 250 On White House South Lawn

A federal judge rejected a last-minute lawsuit seeking to block the UFC Freedom 250 events on the White House South Lawn, which are scheduled for this Sunday on President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.

“Judge rejects legal effort to cancel White House's UFC event A lawsuit by two Virginia residents had sought to block the high-profile event”

ABC News

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled that the two Virginia residents failed to establish they were “directly affected” by the event and failed to show irreparable harm, according to The National Desk.

ABC News

The dispute centered on whether the event violated National Park Service regulations and whether Congress approved the construction of a towering arch overlooking the venue and whether an environmental review was conducted before work began, as described by The National Desk.

NBC4 Washington reported that Mehta also cited the plaintiffs’ “unreasonable delay” in suing to challenge an event that had been in the works for months, and that the ruling allows organizers to use the White House lawn as the venue for Sunday’s planned UFC mixed martial arts event.

The White House said it was “thankful for this correct decision” and said it “looks forward to hosting this once-in-a-lifetime celebration on the South Lawn,” as quoted by Politico.

Mehta’s decision came after plaintiffs argued the UFC event cannot be lawfully held on the White House South Lawn or the Lincoln Memorial, where other aspects of it were expected to take place Friday before the main event on Sunday, according to CNN.

CNN reported that Mehta acknowledged the administration’s claim that halting the event would cause substantial harm to the people involved, including Trump, the fighters and thousands of spectators, and he wrote about “the $60 million that the UFC and UFC-affiliated organizations have expended to put on the event.”

Al Jazeera

In the same ruling, Mehta also emphasized that the plaintiffs unreasonably delayed bringing suit in the context of an emergency application, and Al Jazeera quoted him saying, “it is fair to say Plaintiffs unreasonably delayed bringing suit.”

The plaintiffs’ challenge also targeted the “Claw,” a 92-foot-tall, 600-ton steel structure, which NBC4 Washington said would be disassembled starting Monday morning and that staging equipment at the Lincoln Memorial must be removed before then.

NBC4 Washington further reported that the plaintiffs asked the court to block organizers from building anything for the event on White House grounds, including the “92-foot-tall, 600-ton steel structure called The Claw,” while the White House called the lawsuit a baseless attempt to prevent Trump from hosting an event.

With the legal effort rejected, the event is set to proceed with a press conference at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday, a ceremonial weigh-in at the Ellipse on Saturday, and UFC matches on the White House South Lawn on Sunday, according to ABC News.

“A United States federal judge has declined to block a mixed martial arts fight from being held at the White House, allowing the administration to move forward with the event scheduled for President Trump’s birthday on Sunday”

Al Jazeera

ABC News said Mehta found neither plaintiff was able to show they are “directly affected” by the event and that the lawsuit failed to show the event would cause irreparable harm, while also noting the “unreasonable delay” in filing the lawsuit.

The White House and DOJ framed the authorization as lawful and compared it to other events on the South Lawn like Easter Egg Roll, National Christmas Tree Lighting, state dinners, the Congressional Picnic, and a 2022 Elton John Concert, as described by ABC News.

The plaintiffs, represented by the Public Integrity Project, argued the event was a “corrupt spectacle” and sought to stop what they said was a privately run, for-profit venture with VIP packages costing millions of dollars, according to MS NOW.

MS NOW reported that the plaintiffs said the event would “feature million-dollar VIP packages” and that the event would coincide with Trump’s 80th birthday on Sunday, while the administration said the plan is to celebrate the 250th birthday of America with the fights among professional mixed martial artists on the South Lawn.