Thomas v. Trump
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
Date FiledSeptember 2, 2026
DocketCivil Action No. 2026-2475
JudgeJudge Amit P. Mehta
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
CHUCKY THOMAS, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 26-2475 (UNA)
)
DONALD TRUMP, et al., )
)
Defendants. )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
The Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s complaint, keeping in mind that complaints filed by pro
se litigants are held to less stringent standards than are applied to formal pleadings drafted by
lawyers. See Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972). “A complaint must contain sufficient
factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v.
Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)).
A complaint that lacks “an arguable basis either in law or in fact” is frivolous, Neitzke v. Williams,
490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989), and the Court cannot exercise subject matter jurisdiction over a frivolous
complaint, Hagans v. Lavine, 415 U.S. 528, 536-37 (1974) (“Over the years, this Court has
repeatedly held that the federal courts are without power to entertain claims otherwise within their
jurisdiction if they are ‘so attenuated and unsubstantial as to be absolutely devoid of merit.’”)
(quoting Newburyport Water Co. v. Newburyport, 193 U.S. 561, 579 (1904)); Tooley v. Napolitano,
586 F.3d 1006, 1010 (D.C. Cir. 2009). Consequently, the Court is obligated to dismiss a complaint
as frivolous when, as here, “the facts alleged rise to the level of the irrational or the wholly
incredible,” Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 33 (1992), or “postulat[e] events and circumstances
of a wholly fanciful kind,” Crisafi v. Holland, 655 F.2d 1305, 1307-08 (D.C. Cir. 1981).
The Court finds the complaint’s meager factual allegations irrational and incredible,
rendering the complaint frivolous. The Court cannot exercise jurisdiction of a frivolous complaint.
An Order will be issued separately.
DATE: September 2, 2026 /s/
AMIT P. MEHTA
United States District Judge