A political activist and military veteran from Virginia has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) match scheduled for June 14, 2026, at the White House. The event is part of the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the United States and will take place on the South Lawn. The lawsuit was filed on Saturday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The plaintiffs, Susan Douglas and Paul Romano, argue that the event is 'deeply corrupt' and claim it is unlawful. They allege that the UFC match, which they describe as a private, for-profit event, is not genuinely part of the anniversary celebrations but rather a promotional opportunity for the UFC and its CEO, Dana White, who is a close associate of President Donald Trump.
Douglas and Romano assert that they are experiencing various harms due to the event, including aesthetic and procedural harms. They also criticize the requirement for viewers to pay for a streaming subscription to watch the match. The White House has dismissed the lawsuit as an obstructionist effort, asserting that the event is a legitimate part of the nation's anniversary celebrations and comparable to other events hosted at the White House.
