Lawsuit Seeks To Block UFC Freedom 250 Fight Card At White House

BusinessSportsMoneyLawsuit Seeks To Block UFC Freedom 250 Fight Card At White HouseByTrent Reinsmith,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Trent Reinsmith is a Baltimore-based writer who covers MMA and hockey.Follow AuthorJun 08, 2026, 03:46pm EDTUS President Donald Trump shows a rendering of the upcoming "UFC Freedom 250" event as he speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on May 6, 2026, in Washington, DC. An Ultimate Fighting Championship event will be staged on the White House's South Lawn in June. The June 14 event has been dubbed "UFC Freedom 250," in reference to the United States' 250th anniversary celebrations this summer. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesA federal lawsuit was filed over the weekend regarding the UFC event scheduled for Sunday, June 17, at the White House. That suit argues that the Department of Interior and the National Park Service violated federal law by scheduling the UFC Freedom 250 fight card on public property and failing to obtain congressional approval for the construction surrounding the event. The Public Integrity Project in the District of Columbia filed the suit with the federal district court for the District of Columbia. According to the plaintiffs, the event is “a corrupt scheme to hand the White House South Lawn and Lincoln Memorial to a private, for-profit sports promoter in violation of federal law.”Paul Romano, who has run for office as a Republican, of Springfield, Virginia, a retired Air Force Sergeant and Vietnam War medevac veteran, and Susan Douglas, a Democrat, from Alexandria, Virginia, a longtime civic activist and organizer, are behind the lawsuit. "I served in Vietnam. I've been to the Wall and seen the names of my childhood friends who stood the watch and gave their all," said Paul Romano. "The Lincoln Memorial is sacred ground, and it honors everyone who has ever worn this coun...