A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has thrown out a lawsuit against former President Joseph R. Biden that claimed the U.S. military targeted a local resident with B-52 bombers, jet engine blasts, and chemical trails.
U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan dismissed the case on Tuesday, ruling that the allegations were entirely frivolous and lacked any legal or factual basis.
The plaintiff, Terence Roger James of Washington, D.C., filed the lawsuit pro se—meaning he represented himself—and demanded $340,000 in damages from the former president. In his initial filing, James listed President Biden’s address simply as “California,” which the court noted broke local civil rules requiring proper addresses.
The core of the lawsuit detailed a highly unusual campaign of military intimidation. According to the court’s memorandum opinion, James alleged that the military used B-52 bombers to direct shots at him, ran a “jet engine full throttle burn at close proximity,” and aimed “chemical trails from military aircraft” directly at his home and church.
James further claimed that former President Biden actively blocked him from reporting these violations, which ultimately harmed his finances and overall well-being.
Judge Chutkan granted James’s application to waive his court fees but immediately dismissed the lawsuit under a federal statute that requires judges to toss out cases deemed frivolous or malicious at any time.
In her written opinion, Chutkan explained that federal courts lack the legal authority to entertain claims that are “so attenuated and unsubstantial as to be absolutely devoid of merit.”
Quoting legal precedents, Chutkan wrote that a court is obligated to dismiss a complaint “when the facts alleged rise to the level of the irrational or the wholly incredible,” or when they “postulat[e] events and circumstances of a wholly fanciful kind.” The judge ruled that James’s claims fell “squarely into this category.”
The lawsuit was officially dismissed without prejudice.
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