A Memphis City Council meeting descended into chaos Tuesday night after officials delayed a vote on a proposed data-center moratorium linked to Elon Musk’s facilities, triggering a confrontation that included a fistfight and protesters occupying the chamber.
Angry demonstrators confronted Memphis council members moments after the council voted to postpone consideration of the proposed moratorium on data centers operating in the city.
The council voted 7-5 to table the remaining agenda items until a later meeting. The decision was followed by a barrage of shouting between residents and council members, turning the hearing into a disorderly scene.
One protester raised a bullhorn and led the crowd in a chant of “ain’t no power like the power of the people.”
Council Chairwoman Jana Swearengen Washington called a recess and directed police to clear the chamber, according to the meeting’s livestream.
As tensions rose, protesters moved toward the dais, where council members had gathered, and began yelling at the officials.
Video obtained by KWAM News Radio showed demonstrators accusing the elected officials of being “sellouts.”
Police eventually removed the protesters from the hall while the crowd continued chanting, “this is our city” and “show me what democracy looks like.”
At least two women fought near the exits during the upheaval. No arrests were reported, WREG said.
About 100 protesters had gathered for the scheduled final vote involving data centers located south of Memphis, near the Tennessee-Mississippi border between Memphis and Southaven.
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The two large facilities, known as Colossus and Colossus 2, are operated by Musk’s artificial intelligence company, SpaceXAI.
The original Colossus site was built to support X’s Grok AI chatbot. In May, however, an agreement was announced under which Anthropic would use the facility’s full computing capacity.
Action News 5 reported that the postponed measure is now scheduled for consideration on October 20.
The proposal would impose a 12-month pause on new data centers, giving the city time to study their effects on public health, engineering systems, electricity supplies and water infrastructure.
The disorder also spilled into a dispute among council members, including an accusation that one official was deliberately confusing the public.
“That’s all he does; he brings up mess, he… that’s all you do, JB Smiley, confuse the people over, over, over and over! Anytime there is an election,” Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton said, according to Action News 5.
Councilman JB Smiley, who opposed delaying the vote, urged participants to replace the shouting and fighting with a more constructive discussion.
“When the community shows up, we just have to listen to them. I’m disappointed that we didn’t listen with ears, okay, I hear you, I understand. Let’s figure out how we can do what you want, but also what we believe would be in the best interest of the community,” said Smiley, the moratorium proposal’s lead sponsor.
Councilman Jeff Warren, who opposes a moratorium, cautioned that a year-long halt could discourage companies from doing business in Memphis and push future data-center projects to other communities.
“If we pass a moratorium, there’s not reason for them to think they need to come here. They get the same benefit from going to Desoto County, Crittenden County, Fayette County, Tipton County,” said Councilman Jeff Warren Tuesday.
