Matthew Ryan Arnold v. United States Government

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE MATTHEW RYAN ARNOLD, 9 Petitioner, Case No. C25-2179-KKE 10 v. ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, 12 Respondent.

14 Plaintiff has filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) in the above-entitled action. (Dkt. # 1.) Plaintiff does not appear to have funds available to afford the $405.00 filing fee. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s application to proceed IFP is GRANTED. Plaintiff shall note that leave to proceed as a pauper does not necessarily entitle Plaintiff to a waiver of any other cost(s) of litigation. The Court recommends the complaint be reviewed under 28 19 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) before issuance of summons, as Plaintiff brings claims under the Thirteenth Amendment for involuntary servitude (dkt. # 1-1) based on the assertion that he never provided “explicit, informed consent to be governed under the U.S. Constitution.” See Del Elmer v. Metzger, 967 F. Supp. 398, 402 (S.D. Cal. 1997) (collecting cases, noting there is not a private right of action under the Thirteenth Amendment).

1 The Clerk is directed to send copies of this order to Plaintiff and to the Honorable Kymberly K. Evanson.

3 Dated this 5th day of November, 2025.

A 5 MICHELLE L. PETERSON United States Magistrate Judge