United States District Court, W.D. Arkansas, Fort Smith Division
ORDER
P. K.
HOLMES, III U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE
Plaintiffs,
Edward Allen Watts and Lindsay Lopez, proceed pro se
in this case. Currently before the Court is Plaintiffs'
Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis
(“IFP”). (ECF No. 2). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(e)(2), the Court has the obligation to screen all
Complaints in which a Plaintiff seeks to proceed IFP prior to
service.
I.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiffs
filed their Complaint on January 14, 2019. (ECF No. 1).
Plaintiff, Edward Allen Watts, has subsequently filed several
Supplements, Revised Supplements, Notices, and a Revised
Statement of Claim. (ECF Nos. 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15,
16). Plaintiffs provide the following summary of their case:
Sydney Ann Watts and Stuart Neil Watts committed three
violations of 18 USC 1038 along with multiple other criminal
and civil offenses against Lindsay Lopez and me, Edward Allan
Watts, within the last 10 years. Pursuant to that, 12th
Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Kristopher Koelemay
and Daniel Shue entered into a corrupt bargain with them to
deprive me of my First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment Rights as
guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of
America. Additionally, law enforcement and proxies under
command of the 12th Judicial District, and outside agencies
at Shue's behest, entered into a catastrophic harassment
campaign against Lindsay and me. As such, we the plaintiffs
are pursuing all defendants under 18 USC 1964 civil remedies.
(ECF No. 11 at 2).
Plaintiffs
list the following statutes as the basis for their Statement
of Claim:
18 USC 1964 Civil Remedies
18 USC 1038 (a)(b) False Information
18 USC 1038 (a)(b) False Information
18 USC 1962 Prohibited Activities
18 USC 1038 (a)(b) False Information
42 USC 1983 Deprivation of Rights
42 USC 3631 Discrimination (Multiple Counts)
Ark 16-56-111 Breach of Contract
Related
Statutes:
18 USC 1961 Sec. 1503 Obstruction of Justice (Three
violations of 18 USC 1038 within a ten year period)
18 USC 371 Conspiracy to Conceal Federal Crimes
(ECF No. 11 at 2) (citation and description as listed in
original).
Plaintiffs'
claims arise from an agreement to rent living space that he
and Lopez entered into with Defendants, Sydney Ann Watts and
Stuart Neil Watts, in “late September and early October
2009.” (Id.). Plaintiffs allege an agreement
was entered into with the Social Security Agency for this
living arrangement. (Id.). Plaintiffs allege
numerous incidents at the 6001 Bolton Road residence,
including issues with financial extortion, lack of repairs to
the residence, living conditions at the residence,
unauthorized entry into his room, abuse and racism, and the
subsequent eviction of Plaintiffs. (Id. at 2-6).
Plaintiffs state they were evicted by Fort Smith police
officers on January 9, 2014, despite being current on their
rent payment. (Id. at 4). Plaintiffs requested a
“bilingual sexual assault specialist” at the Fort
Smith Police Department on January 14, 2014, due to the
“racism aspect” of their situation. Plaintiffs
allege they were humiliated at the police department.
(Id. at 4). Plaintiffs were permitted to re-enter
the residence under police supervision on January 15, 2014 to
collect their belongings. (Id. at 5).
On
February 7, 2014, Plaintiffs filed a report with “Fort
Smith police and multiple agencies detailing the eviction and
other offenses.” (Id. at 5). On February 10,
2014, Defendant Sydney Watts and another member of the Watts
family filed a “false report” against Plaintiff
with the Fort Smith police “and/or” the 12th
District prosecuting attorney's office in retaliation
against Plaintiff for exercising his federally-protected
whistle-blower's rights. (Id.). Between February
10, 2014 and September 18, 2018, Plaintiffs allege they were
harassed by “local law ...