Filing Says Organizing Of UFC White House Event Was Unlawful

A lawsuit about UFC Freedom 250.

There was a lawsuit filed by plaintiffs who want to put a halt to the UFC Freedom 250 show on the White House South Lawn.

Below are excerpts from ESPN:

The suit, filed by the Public Integrity Project in District of Columbia federal court, alleges that the Department of Interior and the National Park Service violated federal law by organizing a private sporting event on public property and failing to obtain congressional approval for the event’s multiple construction sites. An emergency application for a preliminary injunction to stop the event was filed early Sunday morning in the same court.

The suit claims violations of park service regulations by allowing the event to occur, that the construction of the UFC’s claw stadium structure on the South Lawn needed congressional authorization because it is federal parkland, and that there was not an environmental review “before undertaking ‘major federal action’ significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.”

A Trump administration official took umbrage with the suit in an emailed statement to ESPN on Sunday.

“This is an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory lawsuit brought simply to prevent President Trump from hosting what will undoubtedly go down as one of the most historic sporting events in our Nation’s history during our semiquincentennial celebration,” the statement read. “This iconic event is no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year.”

The event is taking place on June 14th.