US Department of Justice backs xAI in NAACP lawsuit over data center pollution
The Department of Justice, along with Mississippi, has moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the NAACP against xAI, arguing that the company's operations are essential to US military operations, including the Iran War.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the state of Mississippi have jointly filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the NAACP against Elon Musk's xAI in April. The NAACP alleged that xAI operated 27 methane gas turbines without a proper permit to power its Colossus 2 data center in South Memphis. The organization later sought an injunction to halt the turbines, citing increased risks of asthma attacks and heart disease.
According to Wired, the DOJ's filing sides with xAI, arguing that its operations are integral to US military operations, including the war in Iran. The DOJ wrote that stopping the turbines would threaten American national, economic, and energy security by cutting off power to artificial intelligence innovations that support the Department of War's military operations.
Memphis is one of the asthma capitals of the US, ranking second in asthma-related emergency room visits in 2024, per the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. While the initial lawsuit focused on 27 turbines, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) later uncovered emails showing xAI added more turbines after the lawsuit was filed, bringing the total to 57.
The DOJ stated it uses only four AI models to support mission-critical operations across top-secret classified networks, with Grok among them. Cameron Stanley, the Defense Department's chief digital and AI officer, also filed a declaration supporting xAI, detailing how Grok's Gov model supports vital national security missions and warning that stopping the turbines would directly threaten ongoing national security interests.
