IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DIVISION OF ARKANSAS NORTHERN DIVISION JERRY DON BROOKS PLAINTIFF v. 3:22-CV-00173-BRW JEFF ZHENG, ET AL. DEFENDANTS ORDER A district court has the authority to dismiss a case sua sponte for failure to state a claim.1 Plaintiff asserts that Defendants, a private corporation and its owner, violated his First Amendment rights when it did not allow him to post comments on a website.2 First Amendment free speech protection “only extends to protect citizens from government actions.”3 Plaintiff does not allege that Defendants are government entities or acting under color of state law. Rather, they are private actors. Accordingly, Plaintiff has failed to make a claim under the First

Amendment. Because Plaintiff’s Complaint states no cause of action against Defendants for which relief may be granted, this case is DISMISSED. The motion to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. No. 1) is MOOT. IT IS SO ORDERED this 12th day of July, 2022.

Billy Roy Wilson UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

1See Smith v. Boyd,

(8th Cir. 1991). 2Doc. No. 2. 3Wingate v. Gage Cnty. Sch. Dist., No. 34,

(8th Cir. 2008).