In the weeks leading up to it, Sean Strickland had repeatedly claimed that he had been banned from attending the historic UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. Yet, the UFC middleweight champion still found a way to make his presence felt in Washington, D.C. He first appeared at the UFC Fan Fest during the pre-fight press conference on Friday, where fans mobbed him to the point where he needed the help of local police to get out safely.

Then, hours before the event began today, he discreetly made his way to the UFC Fan Fest at the Ellipse, where thousands of fans had gathered in droves to watch the White House event live. As many expected, Strickland’s appearance quickly created a stir at the Ellipse. In footage shared online, Strickland arrived with his hoodie drawn up. However, the fans there found out who he was, and he was once again mobbed. Despite this, the 185 lbs champ managed to jump into a WWE ring set up made for the fans. However, with the crowds surging to watch the White House event, the security quickly intervened and escorted the middleweight champion out.

“You guys, I’m pretty sure, I didn’t break the law,” Strickland said in a viral social media clip. “Like I’m pretty sure. But I might be going to jail.”

In a later video, Sean Strickland revealed that he could be facing a disorderly conduct charge for gatecrashing and creating a ruckus at the event.

“All right, guys, I may have been charged with disorderly conduct,” he explained. “I don’t know what that is, but it sounds cool. Anyways, I just wanna thank you, fans. I cannot thank you guys enough. After being banned, you guys riding supporting me. It means a lot to me. Thank you.”

In the images that appeared online, security and DC police could be seen escorting Sean Strickland out of the UFC Fan Fest. To clear things up, despite the appearance, the authorities did not arrest Strickland at the event. However, he claims that authorities may charge him with disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor in Washington, D.C. While authorities would not arrest him for the incident at this stage, the offense, if he gets charged with it, carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both. Whether authorities will pursue those charges remains unclear at this point.

Though Sean Strickland claimed that Donald Trump’s handlers had allegedly barred him from the event because of his comments toward the current administration and their political ties to Israel, he still ended up flying to Washington to attend UFC Freedom 250 from the Ellipse Park, where fans could watch the event.

Sean Strickland creating controversy around the White House card was perhaps inevitable. However, even before the recent incident took place, a former UFC veteran had already warned the former champion that his plans in Washington could potentially lead to an arrest.

Ex-UFC heavyweight warned Sean Strickland about attending the White House event

Ahead of UFC Freedom 250, Sean Strickland initially planned to appear outside the White House gates and hold a peaceful protest with a “bullhorn.” Hearing that, former UFC heavyweight contender Brendan Schaub believed Strickland would be inviting unnecessary trouble with his antics and that the Secret Service might arrest him.

“Don’t go there in person,” Schaub said on the Thiccc Boy podcast. “It ain’t going to go how you think. Because remember, in the grand scheme of things, UFC ain’t s–t compared to the White House and the Secret Service. Like they ain’t going to entertain this, buddy… Probably going to get arrested, which, you know, for Sean probably builds his brand even bigger, I guess, if that’s the move. I guess you’re this wild boy who gets arrested at the White House. I just don’t, it doesn’t make sense, man.”

Well, Sean Strickland didn’t actually attempt anything remotely close to what he had initially planned to do. But the ruckus he created during the event was enough for police to intervene. That said, with the middleweight contender currently on the radar of law enforcement, the California native should refrain from causing any further disruption to the event or its broadcast.

Even though Strickland’s presence definitely caused some chaos, the UFC White House event is still going ahead in full swing at the makeshift arena on the South Lawn.