A federal judge denied a lawsuit filed by two Virginia residents seeking to stop this weekend’s UFC fight on the White House lawn, ruling that the two won’t be affected by the event.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who was appointed by President Obama, said the two have no right to challenge the fight because they couldn’t prove the event would harm them.
The two claimants, activist Susan Douglas and Vietnam War veteran Paul Romano, argued that the use of the White House and Lincoln Memorial as a backdrop for the fights would cause them “aesthetic” and “procedural harms” as a result of the event.
“Romano does not assert ’concrete plans to be near the South Lawn of the White House,” Judge Mehta wrote. “Only a serendipitous rideshare trip would place him in a position to see the Claw on the night of the fights. A ’threatened injury must be certainly impending to constitute injury in fact.’ Romano’s allegations do not meet that threshold.”
Judge Mehta also wrote that the claimants failed to explain how their interests and potential harms would outweigh those of everyone else involved in making the fight happen.
He wrote that the fight organizers “point to the nearly yearlong planning of the event; coordination with multiple government agencies, including the Secret Service, site work that began May 20 and has involved between 700 and 900 workers; multiple equipment deliveries; event ticketing logistics and preparations of the contracted UFC fighters.”
“And then there is the $60 million that the UFC and UFC-affiliated organizations have expended to put on the event,” he wrote. “The potential loss of those dollars resulting from a last-minute, court-ordered stoppage cannot be ignored.”
Judge Mehta also criticized the claimants for waiting until earlier this week to file their lawsuit, noting that the event had been planned last fall.
“Plaintiffs’ unreasonable delay in filing suit, though not dispositive, undercuts their claim of irreparable harm,” he wrote.
The District of Columbia-based judge’s decision eliminated a potential last-minute obstacle to the fight occurring. Both plaintiffs were supported by the Public Integrity Project, a nonprofit legal organization that aligns itself with Democratic Party causes.
In their complaint, the Public Integrity Project depicted the fight as a “profoundly corrupt” event in which Mr. Trump and UFC President Dana White, a longtime Trump ally, would financially benefit from the fight.
The Justice Department had pushed back on the lawsuit, arguing that the lawsuit was filed late and canceling the fight would cost well over $60 million and that guests from outside Washington had booked travel to attend.
“All these hopes could be dashed at the very last moment, however, by the whim of two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else,” Justice Department lawyers wrote.
