On Saturday, July 18, 2026, opponents of the rapid buildout of data centers are organizing protests in at least 125 locations across the United States. This marks the first coordinated national effort to express anger over the expansion of AI infrastructure, which has intensified over the past year and stirred local political debates.

The protests are coordinated by HumansFirst, a grassroots group co-founded by Amy Kremer, a former leader of the modern-day Tea Party. Kremer has likened the growing opposition to data centers to the right-wing populist movement of 2009 that protested excessive taxation and government overreach. However, she emphasized that the current anger against data centers is nonpartisan.

"They just woke up one day and found out they're going to have this monstrosity in their community, and they don't want it," Kremer said, predicting that data centers will become a defining issue in the November 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race.

Protesters are rallying against what HumansFirst describes as the “unaccountable” buildout of data centers and an “unacceptable infringement on our liberty.” Towns and counties have led opposition efforts, especially where local officials have approved projects with non-disclosure agreements despite resident pushback or limited regulatory scrutiny.

According to a June Reuters/Ipsos poll, only about one-third of Americans approve of the pace of data center construction, and just 14% would support a data center in their community to support AI projects for companies like Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI.

Organizers, including Eva Cardona who is leading a protest in Texas, and left-leaning Ivan DelSol, who is helping lead a protest in Imperial County, California, where a proposed data center could consume 260 million gallons of water annually from the Colorado River, have called for transparency in the development process, protection of resources and environmental health, community benefits such as well-paid union jobs, and accountability for developers who fail to meet their commitments.

Kremer has criticized Republicans for giving Big Tech a "free pass," but she and some organizers do not support moratoriums on data center approvals like those adopted in New York State.

Sources