Public Integrity Project, “a law firm suing to stop corruption in America,” filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration in an attempt to stop the UFC fight event on the White House South Lawn scheduled for Sunday, June 14. The event is being promoted as part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, which coincides with President Trump’s 80th birthday.
The lawsuit, which was filed this week on behalf of two Virginia residents, claims the administration’s approval of the event “violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, and noted Congress did not consent to the massive construction at the event space nor was there an environmental review conducted before the construction began.”
Last night we filed sued to stop Donald Trump and his allies from personally profiting by staging a for-profit MMA fight on the White House lawn.
Do we want to use our most sacred national monuments for private enrichment? The question answers itself.https://t.co/X8gZwVQIYe
— Brendan Ballou (@brendan_ballou) June 7, 2026
Public Integrity Project CEO Brendan Ballou said of the UFC event at the White House: “This is fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain.”
[NOTE: Ballou is a former special counsel at U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, who for two years prosecuted rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He is the author of Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America.]
As seen below, Ballou told MS Now, “It’s not a lawsuit about a fight. It is a lawsuit about corruption.”
Ballou reported that UFC and its parent company TKO are selling “sponsorship packages” for $1 million to $1.5 million, “plus they’re giving exclusive licensing for showing the title card to Paramount, which is closely allied to the President, and showing ads at the White House Lawn and potentially even at the Lincoln Memorial.”
Ballou added: “All of this is a way for the UFC and for Donald Trump, who is invested in that company, to make a private profit from public property. That is the fundamental problem here.”
BOMBSHELL! Fmr. DOJ Prosecutor Brendan Ballou exposes Trump’s massive UFC scam. He confirms the administration is selling $1.5M VIP packages for White House cage fights.
Washington is openly using public monuments to generate private profits. Pure corruption! pic.twitter.com/QBvww8NFgS
— Furkan Gözükara (@FurkanGozukara) June 12, 2026
[NOTE: Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio is promoting the event this week “as a gift to the American people.”]
As seen below, Rubio said: “The White House is the people’s house, it belongs to the people of the United States,” and said the event is for those people who love the sport. “They’re gonna see their White House and their Capitol on their nation’s birthday celebrating with a historic event.”
Rubio said that the administration “could’ve had a band or had a Shakespeare in the Park production, there were a lot things we could’ve done with it, but this one will have people watching, probably over a billion people all over the world.”
Rubio on Trump’s White House UFC fight on his birthday:
“It’s a gift to the American people.” pic.twitter.com/onefBJHgtn
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) June 11, 2026