The US movement against data centers went national on Saturday.

Protesters across the United States rallied against the massive facility as part of a nationwide demonstration organized by Humans First, a newly founded conservative nonprofit organization taking on what it calls “Big AI.”

The group planned more than 100 rallies throughout the day, from Wasilla in south-central Alaska to the sunny shores of Naples, Florida. Many states had multiple protests scheduled, including 18 in Texas, where available land, access to an electrical grid and potential tax breaks have made it a prime destination for companies building AI data centers.

New Jersey hosted two protests, including one in the small neighborhood of Kenilworth. A crowd gathered outside the local municipal court around 10 a.m. to oppose an incoming $1.8 billion artificial intelligence data center.

The local planning board approved the project last May, but it has since faced growing opposition. A petition to stop construction in April garnered more than 12,000 signatures. According to the last census, around 8,500 people live in Kenilworth.

“Do you think this is pressure? Wait until there is no water pressure,” one protest sign read. Another: “Build communities, not data centers.”

Some residents arrived with noisemakers (plastic horns, whistles, a drum) while others brought colored chalk to mark nearby sidewalks. They didn’t flinch when heavy rain fell later that day. Dressed in ponchos and sharing umbrellas, protesters continued singing and marching.

Grassroots efforts

Humans First is led by Amy Kremer, a MAGA darling who has been at the center of some of the most prominent conservative movements since 2009. A former Tea Party member, she co-founded Women for Trump and served on the Republican National Committee.

He also helped organize the Jan. 6 rally for President Donald Trump in 2021, which later led to a riot at the U.S. Capitol. (Kremer neither planned nor participated in the mutiny.)

In a previous interview with Business Insider, Kremer said she is now using her skills as a grassroots organizer to take on the AI ​​industry.

“I think this is the most important fight of our lives,” Kremer said last month. “This technology could wipe us off the face of the planet.”

The nonprofit advocates for an “America First” approach to AI that centers ordinary residents in the conversation and lets them decide how the technology develops over time.

“This technology has been built on American data with American taxpayer dollars invested in these companies with American energy and American lands,” Kremer said. “We have no say in how technology is used or how it affects our lives, and that’s not okay.”

On Saturday, Kremer thanked those who voluntarily donated their time and energy to the protests.

“The data center boom has been sold as inevitable. It is not. Communities have every right to ask what they are giving up and what they get in return. America is not for sale and our communities are no guarantee,” Kremer wrote in X.

The AI ​​division

Tech leaders have made big promises about AI. They have said it will boost the economy, accelerate scientific progress, cure diseases and relieve humans from mundane work.

However, AI can only advance so far without large data centers, which provide the computing power to run and train the technology. Companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Meta rely on data centers to keep their AI products afloat. For them, data centers are essential.

By the end of 2025, more than 1,400 AI data centers had been built or approved for construction. Many more have been proposed in 2026.

AI evangelists say the United States needs big data centers to support the technology, bolster national security and gain a competitive advantage against China, where researchers are hot on the heels of wealthier American labs. They also say hyperscale data centers promote economic growth and create new jobs, particularly during construction.

Critics, however, aren’t sure the rewards outweigh the risks.

Many are concerned that AI data centers will cause environmental damage, increase electricity bills, drain water, and degrade the overall quality of life in the communities where they are built.

Some Americans have also criticized their local governments and developers for what they say is a lack of transparency around the approval process. Others simply don’t like AI, which some prominent AI leaders have repeatedly warned could destroy white-collar jobs.

In recent months, Americans opposed to data centers have launched petitions, invaded planning meetings and taken legal action to stop construction. Some cities and towns, and even states, have halted construction, while others have banned new data centers altogether. At the federal level, Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders have called for a nationwide moratorium.

While the backlash against AI data centers is bipartisan, Americans don’t always agree on the path to preventing them.

“We don’t believe in a moratorium at the national level or even at the state level. We believe that every community should be able to choose what they put into their community,” Kremer said. “And that doesn’t happen in many places. It’s done behind closed doors.”

Tech companies have found favor with President Donald Trump, who has made the advancement of AI a central part of his agenda. The Trump administration backed Project Stargate, a $500 billion initiative to build more data centers and speed up federal permitting.

“I guarantee you that when the Republicans no longer control all the chambers, they will reach out to the Democrats because, at the end of the day, all they care about is power and control,” Kremer said, referring to tech leaders.

Kremer, however, defended Trump. She says the responsibility lies with Congress.

“It is the responsibility of Congress, and they must act together and listen to and protect the American people,” Kremer said. “President Trump’s executive orders, and his most recent executive order on testing of border AI systems, must go further.”