{"id":644,"date":"2026-07-18T12:37:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T12:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/officemovingamerica.com\/?p=644"},"modified":"2026-07-18T12:37:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T12:37:51","slug":"us-data-center-protests-go-national-as-backlash-grows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/officemovingamerica.com\/?p=644","title":{"rendered":"US Data Center Protests Go National as Backlash Grows"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>By Valerie Volcovici and Lisa Baertlein<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>July 18 (Reuters) &#8211; Opponents of the rapid buildout of data \u2060centers \u2060plan to\u00a0hold protests on Saturday in at least \u2060125 locations across the United States, the first coordinated national effort to channel anger at the AI infrastructure \u200bexpansion that has ramped up over the past year and roiled local politics.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/officemovingamerica.com\/?p=642\">Soccer-Spain\u2019s World Cup Winner Capdevila Seeks Trump\u2019s Help After US Entry Denial<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The protests are coordinated by a grassroots group called HumansFirst, co-founded by a former leader of the \u200cmodern-day Tea Party who has compared\u00a0growing opposition\u00a0to data \u200ccenters to the right-wing populist movement that emerged in 2009 to protest what it saw as excessive taxation and government overreach.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Protesters will rally against what HumansFirst calls \u2060the \u201cunaccountable\u201d buildout of data \u2060centers and \u201cunacceptable infringement on our liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Towns and counties have been at the forefront of opposition to \u200bdata center projects that in some cases have been greenlit with local officials signing non-disclosure agreements with developers despite resident pushback or a lack of regulatory scrutiny. Now politicians\u00a0at the state and national level\u00a0are\u00a0scrambling to keep pace with rising voter anger over the threat of\u00a0higher power bills, the diversion of precious water resources and\u00a0pollution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Data center opposition\u00a0is among the few issues \u200buniting Americans across ideological lines, with just a third of Americans approving of the pace of data-center construction in the U.S., according to a \u2060June\u00a0Reuters\/Ipsos \u2060poll. Only 14% of respondents would \u2060support a data center being \u200bbuilt in their community to support artificial intelligence projects for technology firms such as Meta,\u00a0 Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Elon Musk&#8217;s xAI.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Data \u200bCenter Coalition, the industry\u2019s association and lobbying group, \u2060did not immediately comment on the protests. It previously told Reuters data centers are committed to being responsible neighbors in the communities where they operate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>RED AND BLUE STATES REPRESENT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Although HumansFirst co-founder Amy Kremer compared it to the conservative Tea Party movement\u2019s early days in 2009, she said the anger against data centers is nonpartisan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;They just woke up one day and found out they&#8217;re going to have this monstrosity in their community, and they don&#8217;t want it,&#8221; said Kremer, who\u00a0predicted data centers will be \u2060a defining issue in November\u2019s midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/officemovingamerica.com\/?p=641\">Trump Blames Canada for Wildfire Smoke, Says He Will Add Cost to Tariffs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Kremer has criticized Republicans for giving Big Tech a &#8220;free \u2060pass,&#8221; but she and some organizers also said they do not support policies like moratoriums on data center approvals adopted by the Democratic state of\u00a0New York. Among other things, organizers said they want the development process to be transparent, resources and environmental health protected, community benefits such as the creation of well-paid union jobs and a way to hold developers accountable if they do not follow through on promises.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Late on Friday, the Republican stronghold of Texas, a hotspot for data center development, was on track to have the most protests with 16. The battleground state of Georgia had 11, while Democratic California, Republican Florida and the swing state of Pennsylvania came in at 7 each.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>First-time activist and self-described &#8220;political nomad&#8221; Eva Cardona, 31, is organizing a protest in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been hearing about unregulated AI and the rapid growth was alarming me. I wanted \u2060to do something more hands-on than just your standard Facebook post,&#8221; Hickman said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Left-leaning Ivan DelSol, 54, is helping lead a protest in the California desert&#8217;s Imperial County, where a proposed data center project could use 260 million gallons of water per year from the Colorado River.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s dystopian that you would use this much fresh water for AI,&#8221; DelSol said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Although water is frequently cited as a top public concern, especially in \u200bwater-stressed regions, the data center industry says its water use is not as significant as other industries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici \u200bin Washington and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Stephen Coates)<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/officemovingamerica.com\/?p=639\">US Appeals Court Strikes Down New Jersey\u2019s Assault Weapons Ban on AR-15s<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><b>Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters<\/b>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US News is a recognized leader in college, grad school, hospital, mutual fund, and car rankings. 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