Utah State Senator Jerry Stevenson (R.-Layton) got into a heated confrontation with a reporter from ABC4 who was covering the reported harassment of his business, which soon turned physical after he slapped the reporter's phone out of his hand.
Stevenson is one of the lawmakers on the state’s Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) who approved the 9-GW data center that’s slated to generate and use more than twice the power that the entire state consumes. However, there is swift backlash against his vote, as there have been calls on social media to boycott his business, J&J Nursery and Garden Center, and ABC4 reports that some of its employees have reportedly been harassed by disgruntled community members.
Utah senator smacks ABC4 reporter’s phone out of his hand amid Data Center controversy - YouTube Watch On
ABC4 Reporter and Anchor Bayan Wang and his photographer were doing a story about the nursery and the threats they were receiving because of the decision of one of its owners. While they were at the business’s parking lot, a man was allegedly agitated and screaming at the photographer. Wang approached the two, and he started recording their interaction as he attempted to explain that they were covering the harassment of the business and its people. However, the man, later identified as Stevenson, approached Wang and slapped his phone out of his hand.
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A witness who saw the interaction called the authorities, resulting in the filing of a police report. Once the situation had cooled down, law enforcement officers told Wang that the Senator was apologizing for the incident. However, the crew was also served with a trespassing notice, warning them that they are prohibited from going on the property or premises of the business for a year.
Senator Stevenson has a lot of power in the state of Utah as he sits across multiple boards and even chairs Utah’s Executive Appropriations Committee, the legislative body in charge of the state’s budget and funding. Aside from his membership on the MIDA board, he also sits on the boards of Point of the Mountain State Land Authority and the Utah Inland Port Authority.
Data centers are facing a lot of backlash from the communities surrounding these developments, and many state, city, and town council members are increasingly facing hostility for agreeing to these developments. One of the most alarming incidents is the shooting of the home of an Indiana politician because of their support for a data center project. Aside from this, more than half of the original town council in Archbald, Pennsylvania, have resigned due to community pressure, with some of them fearing for their lives, citing the Indiana incident.
The White House is pushing for more AI development as it races to achieve technological superiority. However, many Americans are now pushing back against this untethered development, especially as data centers’ insatiable power consumption is causing electricity rates to skyrocket. Even though the 9GW Utah data center will not be connected to the grid, many residents are still wary of the potential environmental impact of the site, as it will basically put up a natural gas power plant to power itself.
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Even though the project is moving forward, MIDA is said to be planning more town halls in the near future. Furthermore, construction isn’t expected to start any time soon, as its developer is said to still be raising money for the massive data center campus.
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