A new lawsuit aims to shut down the planned UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House and Lincoln Memorial, challenging the promotion’s ability to stage a for-profit show on federal land.
Filed by Vietnam veteran Paul Romano and Virginia civic activist Susan Douglas, the suit argues that holding UFC Freedom 250 at these locations would illegally generate revenue for UFC and its broadcast partner Paramount unless the event were run by the government. The Public Integrity Project is backing the legal challenge.
Douglas said, "The President arranged to hand two of America's most cherished monuments to a private corporation so he and his allies could profit from them. That is corruption," and added, "These monuments belong to all of us Americans, not to Dana White, not to advertisers like Crypto.com, and not to Donald Trump. We're asking the court to enforce the law because the administration refuses to."
The lawsuit targets what it describes as "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." The promotion has described the upcoming UFC Freedom 250 event as not political and not transactional.
According to the filing, Douglas is described as "a longtime civic activist and organizer." The lawsuit document and the Public Integrity Project's formal news release are available online.
