Teacher Arrested for Clapping Against Data Centers Gets All Charges Dropped
Much to the chagrin of many a city council member hoping to get their beak wet, Americans have a more-or-less universal antipathy for data centers that cuts across all demographics and has only grown more intense over time. So great is the hatred of these buzzing, energy-hogging buildings that the topic has quickly become one of the defining issues of the forthcoming midterm elections. And those who once thought this might be a seasonal wedge issue are now preparing for a world where this hostility is a mainstay of future American politics.
As an anonymous representative from a major AI company recently told Politico, “AI is going to be a massive issue for the presidential election in a way that technology has never been an issue. Nobody wants to lose their job, and they’re already feeling squeezed while these very, very wealthy people who are richer than anything we have ever seen in the history of Earth are making more. And I think people are sick and tired of that.”
Despite this rare bipartisan mandate from the public and politicians from both parties at the state and federal level seemingly clocking the changing winds, local elected officials have had a hard time accepting their constituents’ opposition to these centers. This dissonance manifested as a spate of hasty and petulant arrests of data center protesters over the summer.
One of the more viral and absurd moments from the chaos came on July 22 when 37-year-old physics teacher Lux Claridge was forced to the ground, cuffed, and carried out by four arresting officers for the crime of clapping in support of an anti-data center speaker at the Emporia, Kansas city commission meeting podium. The city initially tried to justify its draconian reaction by booking Claridge into the Lyon County jail on charges of disorderly conduct and interference with law enforcement. They noted that the meeting commissioners had already warned those who’d shown up to protest the proposed 1,000-acre hyperscale data center to refrain from “clapping, snapping,” or other “rude and disruptive” behavior.
It seems that the subsequent month of bad press has caused Emporia officials to reconsider their position, as the charges against Claridge were all dismissed without prejudice on Monday. “I was informed by my attorney that the city has dropped my charges and has passed my information along to the county,” Claridge told 404 Media. “As far as I know, I’m in the clear unless the county is feeling froggy.”
While the news is an unmitigated win for Claridge, the citizens of Emporia still have an existential fight on their hands. Following Claridge’s forced removal from the July meeting, the commissioners went on to pass the zoning change that would allow the center and moved to virtual meetings “in the interest of public safety.” However, according to a press release from the city, public comment is expected to resume on September 2, giving community members two months to say their peace before voting on whether or not to completely ban centers in the November election.
