Mallgren v. New York State
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
Date FiledJuly 13, 2026
DocketCivil Action No. 2026-2220
JudgeJudge Randolph D. Moss
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
ANTHONY BRIAN MALLGREN, )
)
Plaintiff, )
v. ) Civil Action No. 26-2220 (UNA)
)
)
UNITED STATES, et al., )
)
Defendants. )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on the plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis,
ECF No. 2, and pro se complaint, ECF No. 1. The Court grants the application and dismisses the
complaint without prejudice.
“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).
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Plaintiff allegedly is denied access to the means by which “to produce defensive
equipment,” Compl. ¶ 3, such as stockpiles of food and water for use “if disaster were to strike,”
id. According to Plaintiff, “[t]he United Staes seemingly calls for the production of defensive
means, but due to some of the states’ ethical vulnerability to mishaps, they have seemingly tried
to prioritize the wellbeing of the ethically vulnerable over those that have abided by ethical
means, and have undergone severe transgression due to the propagation of an enabled people,
and the resulting congealment of resources.” Id. ¶ 5. He demands that citizens be granted “the
ability to manufacture means of defense.” Id. ¶ 6.
The Court deems the complaint’s few factual allegations irrational and incredible, and the
Court cannot exercise jurisdiction of a frivolous complaint. An Order will be issued separately.
RANDOLPH D. MOSS
DATE: July 13, 2026 United States District Judge
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