Controversial anti-Trump UFC star Sean Strickland was escorted out of the UFC fan festival event near the White House by Secret Service agents on Sunday. The reigning middleweight champion, who has previously come under fire for racist, homophobic and misogynistic remarks, was removed from the viewing party on The Ellipse.
Strickland had previously claimed he hadn’t been invited to the event, part of America’s 250th birthday celebrations, which also coincided with Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, because of his criticism of the president. He documented what went down on social media.
Earlier in the day, he posted on his Instagram Story: “Well guys sorry no luck on a ticket to the fan fest….. Just not American enough:/” He later shared a video of himself inside the fan festival and being mobbed by supporters who chanted “USA! USA!” as he declared: “We made it you guys, we fucking made it.”
Photos and videos posted online then showed Strickland being surrounded by Secret Service agents and other law enforcement officers before being escorted out of the area. Strickland later shared footage of himself from inside what appeared to be a police vehicle. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t break a law, like I’m pretty sure. But we might be going to jail, but I’m pretty sure we didn’t break no laws,” he said. In another video, the fighter suggested he “may have been charged with disorderly conduct” and thanked his fans for “riding and supporting me.”
The United States Park Police contested Strickland’s comments, however, saying he was “neither cited nor arrested in connection with the incident” but instead “was advised not to return to the venue for his own and public safety” and was returned to his hotel. “The unplanned presence of Sean Strickland drew significant attention from attendees, resulting in disorder,” the United States Park Police Public Information Office said in a statement to ESPN. “Due to concerns for Strickland’s safety and the safety of event patrons, personnel from the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Park Police, and other assisting agencies evacuated him safely from the area.”
