Federal attorneys are urging a judge to dismiss a legal challenge aimed at stopping a planned Ultimate Fighting Championship bout scheduled for this weekend on White House property.
The administration filed court documents on Tuesday defending the June 14 mixed martial arts event, claiming the lawsuit was filed too late and that the event complies with all applicable laws.
Two residents from the Washington area have petitioned U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta for an emergency order to prevent the fight from taking place. Their legal challenge claims that sporting competitions are prohibited on the White House South Lawn and that the massive metal fighting structure being built requires congressional authorization.
In their response, federal lawyers argued the challengers failed to demonstrate potential success in their case or prove they would suffer any actual harm from the event.
“It would be easy enough to simply avert their gazes for the weekend,” the administration’s filing stated. “Instead, they seek to enlist the power of a federal court to impose their idiosyncratic preferences on the rest of the country and ruin an event designed to celebrate the United States of America.”
Legal representatives for the challengers have not yet provided a response to requests for comment.
The planned White House spectacle, titled “UFC Freedom 250” and scheduled to coincide with the president’s 80th birthday celebration, features fights inside a towering 92-foot octagon-shaped arena. Preliminary weigh-ins are planned for the Lincoln Memorial.
The legal complaint accuses the National Park Service and Interior Department of improperly authorizing the event and demands the approval be overturned.
“This nation’s public monuments should not be loaned out for private exploitation,” the lawsuit states.
Government attorneys countered that current rules do not prohibit such events and pointed to the South Lawn’s long tradition of hosting public gatherings.
The president’s relationship with the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization extends back to the early 2000s, when he arranged for events at his former Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which later went bankrupt. UFC Chief Executive Dana White maintains a close alliance with the president.
