Cops have claimed they yanked an anti-Trump fighter from the president’s UFC birthday party for his own safety.
UFC champion Sean Strickland was escorted out of a UFC viewing party near the White House by officers on Sunday, with cameras capturing the moment he was grabbed and dragged.
The United States Park Police Public Information Office has now claimed that it happened because Strickland showed up unannounced, and it became unsafe.
“The unplanned presence of Sean Strickland drew significant attention from attendees, resulting in disorder,” the office said in a statement. “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.”
Jaclyn Cruz, a 26-year-old fan from Nashville, Tennessee, was at the fan festival. She saw Strickland being escorted out. “After I saw that, I was shaking,” Cruz said. “It was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m living like a fever dream right now.’”
Videos show the fighter, 35, getting mobbed by fans as he entered a ring set up on the Ellipse. Cops were booed as they yanked him out. He was taken back to his hotel, police said.
“I’m pretty sure I didn’t break a law, like I’m pretty sure,” he said on his Instagram Story from the back of a security vehicle. “But we might be going to jail, but I’m pretty sure we didn’t break no laws.”
In another video, the MMA fighter said he “may have been charged with disorderly conduct.”
“Strickland was neither cited nor arrested in connection with the incident,” the Park Police responded. “However, he was advised not to return to the venue for his own and public safety.”
Strickland, a controversial figure, has turned on MAGA of late. Once a vocal Trump supporter, he has begun to criticize the president, blasting his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and his decision to launch the war against Iran.
