A protester interrupted a large pro-data center gathering in Washington, D.C., shouting about the industry’s water use and directing obscene gestures at attendees before being removed by security.
“Thank you for using all of our water!” and “You’re killing the world,” the protester shouted as she disrupted the event, chanting against the data center industry while flipping off the crowd.
The event, called “Data After Dark,” was hosted by three self-described data center “fanboys” and drew more than 600 people who came to show support for data center infrastructure.
Party co-host and Young Voices CEO Casey Givens told Fox News Digital that the protester had first approached him asking to give a toast in support of data centers. After he declined, she climbed onstage and tried to grab the microphone from co-host Jonas Du. Security removed her, and the crowd responded by chanting “USA, USA, USA.”
Data centers house the high-performance computers that store, process and analyze data, allowing artificial intelligence systems to be trained and operated. The industry has become a flashpoint as construction accelerates across the country to meet surging AI demand.
“I organized the party along with my co-hosts because the three of us were dismayed by how one side was dominating the data center conversation with hysteria instead of reason,” said Givens. “We wanted to push back by throwing a celebration of technology and benefits of data centers — locally in terms of tax revenue and economic development, and nationally in terms of innovation and the fight against China.”
The party featured themed cocktails, including one called the “Loudoun County Iced Tea,” a nod to the Northern Virginia county that, according to its own website, handles more than 70% of global internet traffic across roughly 250 data centers.
Trump’s Push for AI Dominance
The confrontation comes as President Donald Trump presses for a rapid buildout of data centers nationwide, arguing that the United States must outpace China in artificial intelligence development and that local resistance to such projects only benefits Beijing.
“If you want to go through poverty, crime and squalor, I would say don’t approve of data centers,” Trump said from the Oval Office on Sept. 4.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, Trump touted what he called American “superintelligence” superiority over China.
“Every major new technology brings challenges, and superintelligence is no exception,” Trump said. “Whoever wins superintelligence wins. That’s the group that wins. And we’re leading now over China by a lot and everyone else. And we’re going to keep it that way.”
The dispute over data centers has increasingly split communities and policymakers between those who see the facilities as engines of economic growth and national competitiveness, and those raising concerns about resource use, including electricity and water demands, tied to the industry’s rapid expansion.
