White House UFC event is getting increased security, DHS says
U.S. President Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump attend UFC 327 at Kaseya Center on April 11, 2026, in Miami, Florida. The main event of UFC 327 is the light heavyweight match between Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The sprawling UFC Freedom 250 event being held on the South Lawn of the White House and the Ellipse event in June are receiving the highest level of security possible, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told ABC News.
“The ‘UFC Freedom 250’ event held on the South Lawn of the White House and the Fan Festival on the Ellipse on June 13-14, 2026, are designated SEAR 1 events,” a department spokesperson said to ABC News.
Other SEAR 1 events include the Super Bowl, the Chicago Marathon and the Rose Bowl Game.
In years past, the federal coordinator for the SEAR 1 events was an agent from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) or the U.S. Secret Service. This year’s Super Bowl security posture in San Francisco was led by the lead HSI agent from the San Francisco Field Office.
The event is not a National Special Security Event, which is designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security and includes events like the Presidential Inauguration and the 250 Military Parade.
UFC Freedom 250 — a UFC fight taking place on the South Lawn was an idea that President Donald Trump has been deeply involved in helping plan. UFC President Dana White announced that in addition to the fight, there will be a fan fest on the ellipse and events through the National Mall, including a press conference at the Lincoln Memorial.
The threat landscape has also never been more dynamic, according to law enforcement sources.
A March alert sent to law enforcement partners around the country from DHS talked about the threat of lone actors.
“Lone offenders in the Homeland have not historically been motivated by issues related to Iran, the IRGC, or Shia violent extremism; however, the existential threat to the Iranian regime and increased US or Israeli actions could prompt some US-based violent extremists or hate crime perpetrators to attack targets perceived to be Jewish, pro-Israel, or linked to the US government or military,” the bulletin says.
The U.S. Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sign at Federal Center Plaza in Washington, D.C., Feb. 15, 2026. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters, FILE)
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is encouraging Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees who are furloughed due to the partial government shutdown to apply for unemployment, according to internal documents reviewed by ABC News.
The shutdown directly affects the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) and FEMA, which are not funded until Congress can resolve its differences over funding the agency.
The information went to FEMA employees who are furloughed and now asked to file with unemployment departments in the state in which they are based.
DHS is asking creditors for “flexibility” for its employees “who are experiencing challenges with making timely payments, including consideration of waiving any late fees associated with delayed or incomplete mortgage or rent payments until the situation is resolved.”
“Because DHS employees will not receive pay during the lapse in appropriations, many are experiencing difficulty in meeting their financial obligations, including rent and mortgage payments,” a letter dated March 15 to creditors from DHS says. “This challenge is compounded by the fact that many employees are still affected by the previous 43-day lapse in appropriations. This lapse is expected to be temporary and is entirely beyond our employees’ control.”
Funding for DHS lapsed in mid-February when Democrats refused to vote for it, demanding that reforms be made to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the wake of its immigration enforcement operations, in particular in Minnesota, where Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot during encounters with federal agents in January. The Trump administration accuses congressional Democrats of playing politics at the expense of the American people.
“Democrats have cut off resources and funding for FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and thousands of federal law enforcement officers — jeopardizing America’s border security, maritime safety, and ability to respond to emergencies,” the White House said in a statement last week.
Americans’ safety and security are on the line each day the Democrat Shutdown continues.”
On Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on Democrats to join forces behind a discharge petition that would fund all DHS agencies except for ICE. A vote on similar legislation failed earlier in the Senate but Jeffries aims to put House Republicans on the record as well, though he would need at least four Republicans to vote with Democrats.
The government was shut down for 43 days in October and November over Democrats’ push to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, which were cut in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill.
ABC News’ John Parkinson and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel delivers remarks on an arrest connected to the 2012 U.S. Embassy attack in Benghazi, at the Department of Justice on February 6, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The UFC will host training sessions at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, this weekend, the mixed martial arts promotion and FBI announced on Thursday.
FBI Director Kash Patel has long been a UFC fan and talked about doing this type of training in one of his first calls with staff at the FBI.
“I’m thrilled to announce this historic seminar between the FBI and the UFC at Quantico,” Patel said in a statement. “This is a tremendous opportunity for our FBI agents to learn and train with some of the greatest athletes on earth — helping the world’s premier law enforcement agency be even better prepared to protect the American people.”
The seminars will be on March 14 and 15 and will be led by current and former UFC fighters, including one champion, UFC said.
“I have tremendous respect for the FBI and the work they do every day to protect this country,” UFC CEO Dana White said in a statement. “Our UFC fighters are some of the baddest men and women on the planet and they are heading to Quantico to train the best FBI agents in mixed martial arts. It’s an incredible opportunity for our athletes to experience, and we’re proud to support the FBI in strengthening their defense techniques.”
UFC fighters taking part in this weekend’s training include current interim UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethe, the first UFC BMF champion Jorge Masvidal, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, former UFC strawweight title challenger Claudia Gadelha, former UFC lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler, top UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape and mixed martial arts legend Renzo Gracie, the UFC said.
“This collaboration is part of an overall initiative by the FBI to provide its agents with exciting, innovative training options and to constantly look for opportunities to revamp and improve their preparation to continue to be the best of the best,” the FBI said in a release.
The FBI did not say what type of training would be conducted.
The Trump administration and UFC relationship is not new. Trump has attended multiple fights in recent years and the White House is hosting a UFC fight on the Ellipse later this year.
The White House-UFC event, which has been named UFC Freedom Fights 250, is June 14, which is also President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. The event is also meant to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi talks to reporters after meeting with some of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers at the Capitol, Sept. 2, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic voters in Illinois are heading to the polls on Tuesday for a slate of midterm election primaries where incumbents aren’t on the ballot, including a marquee Senate race animated by the prospect of generational change and House races dogged by major outside spending.
Six Democratic-favoring seats are opening up in Illinois’ congressional delegation, including the U.S. Senate seat currently held by the retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, and five House seats that are being vacated either due to retirements (in the 4th, 7th, and 9th districts) or because their incumbents are running for Senate (in the 2nd and 8th).
Illinoisans are also voting in primaries for governor, although incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker has no Democratic primary challengers, and other state offices.
‘An opportunity for generational turnover’
In the Senate race, the state’s voters “have an opportunity for generational turnover — where a boomer senator is stepping down, and you’ve got three Gen-Xers, who’ve been around on the scene for quite some time, trying to get the seat,” Northwestern University political science professor and Democratic strategist Alvin Tillery told ABC News. While Tillery is currently working for active campaigns, he is not involved in any races in Illinois.
“It could be another 20 or 30 years before we have a Senate race this competitive in Illinois,” he added.
A few Republican candidates are vying to become the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate election, including attorney Jeannie Evans and former Illinois GOP chair Don Tracy. The Cook Political Report rates the race as solidly Democrat.
Among the frontrunners in the Democratic Senate primary, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who represents Illinois’ 8th District in Congress, has led the pack in fundraising, having raised over $30 million, according to campaign finance filings.
“I’m the only one with the background of standing up to bullies and bad actors, and successfully doing so, and now I have to stand up to Donald Trump,” Krishnamoorthi told ABC News in an interview on Sunday.
He also argued that his fundraising gives him “a certain amount of independence that perhaps nobody else has in this race.”
Pritzker’s endorsement in Senate race Illinois’ lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, entered the race with Pritzker’s quick endorsement. Her campaign made some waves when it unveiled a campaign television ad where voters and Illinois’ other senator Tammy Duckworth curse out President Donald Trump, while Stratton says, “They said it, not me.”
“I think that there is something that’s sort of a common theme that I’m hearing, no matter which corner of the state of Illinois that you live in, and that is that people are fed up with what’s happening in D.C.,” Stratton told ABC News in an interview. “They’re tired of the status quo.”
Pritzker — a rumored 2028 presidential hopeful — has campaigned with her and donated $5 million in December to an outside group supporting her bid, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly is running for the seat with the argument that over a decade of experience in the House has set her up to be successful in Congress’ upper chamber.
“I have a track record that they cannot touch,” Kelly told ABC station WLS-TV on Tuesday in Chicago. “And I think a lot of people know that.”
Kelly has the endorsement of the political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC); longtime CBC member Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., campaigned with Kelly on Tuesday, telling WLS-TV she is “our go-to person on health care issues.”
Some members of the caucus have criticized Pritzker’s support of Stratton, who is Illinois’ first Black female lieutenant governor, and feel her presence in the race risks splitting the Black vote in the primary to benefit Krishnamoorthi.
Stratton told ABC News, “I have the best path in the nation to elect another Black woman to the United States Senate.” Krishnamoorthi, if elected, would only be the second-ever Indian-American senator in the Senate.
On the trail, the candidates have all harshly criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — particularly in the wake of Operation Midway Blitz in 2025 — but only Stratton has outright called to “abolish” the agency.
Krishnamoorthi, however, has framed his position as “abolish Trump’s ICE,” and Kelly has presented a broader position of “dismantling” the whole Department of Homeland Security.
Outside groups’ spending criticized
Opposition to ICE has also become a campaign wedge: Stratton and Krishnamoorthi have criticized each for how they or groups supporting them have previously been supported by companies or donors with ties to the agency.
Outside groups, including some linked to cryptocurrency or artificial intelligence companies, have also spent millions in the Senate primary and House races in Illinois. Over $55 million has been spent on ads by Senate candidates or groups supporting them, according to an analysis by AdImpact, while over $37 million has been spent by House candidates or groups supporting them.
And the conversation around the House races has been dominated by that and other spending, including money from groups directly or allegedly linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), both before and after the Feb. 28 U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran brought the Middle East back to the forefront.
AIPAC’s affiliated super PAC United Democracy Project (UDP) has spent directly in some House races in Illinois, but candidates have alleged that other outside groups are also linked to it.
In the race for Illinois’ 9th District, for example, a slate of progressives including Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and former journalist Kat Abughazaleh are running to replace retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Biss and Abughazaleh have excoriated super PAC spending allegedly linked to AIPAC to support state Sen. Laura Fine’s bid. Fine has also criticized the sheer spending in the race. AIPAC has not confirmed being involved.
And Schakowsky had initially endorsed Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller in the race for the 2nd District, currently represented by Krishnamoorthi. But she withdrew her endorsement after a Washington Post report that an independent group, Affordable Chicago Now, that has spent over $4 million in favor of Miller, appears to use one of the same vendors as AIPAC or UDP.
UDP, which has not spent money directly to support Miller, according to current campaign finance filings, did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
“Illinois deserves leaders who put voters first, not AIPAC or out-of-state Trump donors. I cannot support any candidate running for Congress who is funded by these outside interests,” Schakowsky wrote in a statement to ABC News.
A spokesperson for Miller’s campaign told ABC News, “Rep. Schakowsky and Commissioner Miller have been friends for over 20 years. Donna’s support reflects the broad base behind her campaign, coming from a diverse coalition of people who believe in her vision for change.”
