By admin 
Two Virginia residents have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the UFC fight President Donald Trump is holding at the White House as part of celebrations for the nation’s 250th birthday.
Read more Can Marco Rubio convince Trump that a free Cuba is America First?
The lawsuit, filed Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of a Vietnam War veteran and a civic activist, argues the structure erected on the White House grounds is not authorized without congressional approval or environmental review.
It also argues the use of the White House grounds “to stage a private, for-profit sports event, with all the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access” will both financially benefit UFC President Dana White and Trump himself, citing a report in the spring Trump bought $50,000 in stock in UFC’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings.
The lawsuit pushes back on the assertion from the administration that the UFC match falls under the authorization from Congress for events to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, saying the event “is not in any material sense a ‘celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence’—it is, instead, a celebration of the UFC’s brand and the 80th anniversary of Donald Trump’s birth.”
Read more GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is raising alarms about an 11th hour challenger: Dan J. Sullivan
CNN has reached out to the White House and UFC for comment on the lawsuit.
The White House South Lawn event, set for June 14, coincides with Trump’s 80th birthday. A weigh-in for the fighters is set for the day before at the Lincoln Memorial.
“The Lincoln Memorial is sacred ground, and it honors everyone who has ever worn this country’s uniform,” plaintiff Paul Romano, a retired Air Force sergeant and Vietnam veteran, said in a news release. “Using it as a backdrop for a for-profit cage fight so the President and his friends can make money is a desecration.”
Read more Your brain can start changing after just two minutes of this mental practice