- Republican group to organize national day of protest against data centers
- Humans First aims to give grassroots Americans a voice in policy surround data centers
- Growing opposition is bipartisan, but is causing a rift between Trump and Republicans
US Conservatives are organizing a national protest against what they describe as “the unchecked and unwanted expansion of AI data centers”.
Exclusive Axios reporting claims the Republican-aligned Humans First group seeks to organize rallies in 13 locations across Georgia, California, Texas, Florida and Virginia.
The group says the protests will offer “grassroots Americans, particularly grassroots conservatives, a voice in the critical debate over policies relating to the building of massive AI data centers”.
Tea Party to protest data center expansion
The Human First is chaired by Amy Kremer, a notable member of the 2009 Tea Party movement, supporter of Donald Trump, and a key figure in the group that organized the January 6 ‘Stop the Steal’ rally which culminated in the attack on the US Capitol building by Trump supporters.
“I was one of the earliest leaders of the Tea Party movement in 2009,” Kremer said in a statement, “and I can tell you that the disconnect between the elites and the base that gave rise to the Tea Party movement can be seen today in the battle over AI data centers.”
Discontent surrounding the rapid growth in the construction of data centers - fueled by AI demand - has been growing in the United States, with many grassroots movements successfully delaying and cancelling over $130 billion worth of buildouts.
Many of the local groups opposing data centers have been bipartisan and largely working class, with other notable efforts coming from both Democrat and Republican representatives.
"In the spirit of the Tea Party, we are announcing a Nationwide Day of Protest against the unchecked and unwanted expansion of AI data centers and the dangerous AI systems being built within them to be held on Saturday July 18th," said Kremer.
Humans First said in a statement to Axios that the rallies are open to anyone wishing to oppose data centers, but the group was primarily focused on rallying conservative Americans.
What happened to the Chinese psyop?
Earlier in June, several high-ranking Republican officials backed by fossil fuel and cryptocurrency advocacy groups sent an open letter calling on FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate evidence that data center opposition was being fueled by “foreign influence campaigns targeting artificial intelligence development in the U.S.”.
The evidence given in the letter pointed the finger at China, claiming that Chinese propaganda was being funneled into the “environmental left” to assist in “hijacking MAGA” to pass legislation opposing the construction of data centers.
OpenAI later revealed that it had deleted a number of accounts associated with social media influence campaigns organized by China, but stated that these campaigns had failed to gain any traction.
The wave of Republican opposition to data centers is likely to cause a rift in President Trump’s support base, with many supporting the President himself and his planned buildout of fossil fuel energy production, but opposed to the rapid expansion of data centers and the growing negative sentiment around AI.
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