142 Protests in 42 States: America Just Turned on Data Centers

In a single weekend, opposition to the AI buildout went national: 142 protests across 42 states — the first coordinated, coast-to-coast mobilization against data centers. And that’s only where today’s briefing begins.

🚨 **COMMUNITY** — HumansFirst, a group co-founded by a former Tea Party leader, coordinated 142 protests in 42 states on Saturday — the first nationwide mobilization against the data center buildout. Polling shows only ~14% of Americans would welcome a data center in their community, and the movement claims ~$98 billion in blocked projects plus 300+ bills pushed through state legislatures in the first half of 2026. (Source: AP / US News / TechTimes)

⚖️ **LEGAL** — A Hood County, Texas district judge dismissed — with prejudice — a lawsuit by developers National CRE Holdings and Greenland Capital, who claimed their « Project Red » and « Project Yellow » data center campuses deserved automatic approval after a 30-day statutory deadline lapsed. Judge Bryan Bufkin ruled the filings weren’t « development plans » under Texas law at all. (Source: Fort Worth Report / KERA News)

⚡ **POWER** — PJM’s capacity auction for 2028–29 cleared at the $325/MW-day price cap for the third consecutive time, procuring 134,311 MW but falling 6.8 GW short of its reserve-margin target with only ~525 MW of new resources. The market monitor says data centers drove $6.3 billion of the $16.4 billion in auction charges hitting 13 states and D.C. (Source: PJM / Utility Dive / Sierra Club)

💧 **WATER** — Amid a tightening regional drought, the Western Virginia Water Authority issued a statement pushing back on « misinformation » about Google’s Botetourt County data center: a 2024 proposal for 10–11 million gallons/day was rejected, and the binding agreement starts at 2 million gallons/day, scaling to 8 million. Nearby Lynchburg is asking residents to conserve. (Source: WSLS / WDBJ7)

🏛️ **POLICY** — Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive order makes New York the first state to halt new data center c