1 of 4 | The Ultimate Fighting Championship Freedom 250 arena is seen from the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
June 12 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Friday refused to halt a planned UFC fight on the White House's South Lawn in response to a lawsuit saying the event violates government regulations.
District Judge Amit P. Mehta of the District of Columbia said the lawsuit brought by Susan Douglas and Paul Romano, both residents of Virginia, failed to show how the event scheduled for Sunday would harm either of the plaintiffs.
The Trump administration is in the process of building a 92-foot-tall, 600-ton steel structure on the South Lawn to hold the UFC event on Sunday, which is President Donald Trump's 80th birthday. The event has been advertised as being part of the celebration of the United States' 250th anniversary, which is July 4.
The lawsuit, in which the plaintiffs are represented by the Public Integrity Project, accuses the Trump administration of circumventing congressional authority and violating National Park Service regulations to construct the structure, which they said is destroying much of the South Lawn. The suit said the erection of such a structure on national monument grounds must be authorized by Congress.
