Protesters decry Trump's UFC event at White House as corrupt and inappropriate

Dozens of people stood across the entrance gates to the Ellipse, the park south of the White House, on Sunday afternoon, holding protest signs and chanting as the president prepared to host seven mixed martial arts fights on the lawn. Thousands of fight fans streamed past the protesters into the sprawling public viewing area that the Trump administration and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) erected steps from the White House. The cage fights, marketed as a celebration of the country's "fighting spirit" ahead of its 250th anniversary, were held on Donald Trump's 80th birthday. Protesters held a large puppet cage of oversized figures of Trump and his cabinet members, drawing looks from tourists and boos from UFC spectators. "This reeks of corruption – way too much corruption," said Susan Douglas, an organizer with Third Act Virginia. "It's for Trump's birthday and has nothing to do with the founding of our country," she added. Douglas was one of two plaintiffs in an emergency federal lawsuit brought by the Public Integrity Project, an anti-corruption non-profit, seeking to block the UFC event. However, a federal judge rejected the lawsuit just two days earlier. "I'm just appalled," Douglas said, watching the crowd flow past. Protesters opposed the event for several reasons, including that Trump holds significant stock in TKO, the UFC's parent company, and that the event commercializes federal park lands. Others opposed the inherently violent nature of the event, claiming cage fights were inappropriate for federal property, especially as the US continues wars abroad. Fighters were set to emerge from the Oval Office and walk to a 92-ft-tall steel cage known as "the Claw" on the South Lawn, while VIP guests who paid up to $1.5 million for access watched from ringside. "[The Claw] is not the least bit stately," Douglas said. "The people's house should not be used for a money-making sports event. Full stop." "We just wanted to show what an awful group of people this administration is," said Marco Smith, a member of Third Act Virginia who led the construction of the cage and puppets. "We made the cage to show them behind bars where they belong." As the UFC fans entered, they booed protesters and chanted Trump's name. Protesters responded with chants of "No national guard!" and "Free DC!" A few blocks away, about 100 people gathered with Code Pink and other groups for a community meal under the banner "They Fight, We Feed." Olivia DiNucci, an organizer with CodePink, said the UFC fight was a symptom of militarism and violence in society. She noted the connection between a $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget and cuts to social safety nets. "It's absolutely horrifying that people in this country go to bed every night not knowing where the next meal will be, when weapons manufacturers are making a killing off of killing," DiNucci said. The protest was part of a broader season of counter-programming, DiNucci said, opposing the "Freedom 250" narrative. Meanwhile, the Committee on the First Amendment is organizing a concert titled "Rise Up, Sing Out" featuring Bette Midler, Patti Smith, Rufus Wainwright, Jane Fonda, Julia Roberts, and others, streaming live to over 500 watch parties across the country.