Opponents of the rapid expansion of data centers are organizing protests on Saturday at at least 125 sites across the United States, in the first nationally coordinated effort to channel popular anger toward the growing expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure, which has sparked widespread disruptions in local politics over the past year.

The protests are coordinated by a grassroots group known as 'Humans First,' co-founded by a former leader of the Tea Party movement, a conservative anti-establishment network. The group's founder likened the rising opposition to data centers to the right-wing populist movement that emerged in 2009 protesting what was then seen as high taxes and government overreach.

Protesters are set to gather to express their rejection of what the Humans First group describes as 'unaccountable' expansion of data center construction, which it considers an 'unacceptable violation of liberties.'

Towns and counties have been at the forefront of opposition to data center projects, with some obtaining approvals despite residents' objections, and in several cases after local officials signed non-disclosure agreements with developers or amid limited regulatory scrutiny.

As opposition grows, politicians at the local and federal levels are rushing to address rising voter anger over concerns about higher electricity bills, depletion of water resources, and worsening environmental pollution.

Opposition to data centers is one of the rare issues that unites Americans across the political spectrum; a Reuters/Ipsos poll in June found that only about a third of Americans support the current pace of data center construction in the United States.

Only 14% of poll respondents said they would support a data center being built in their area to serve AI projects by major tech companies, including Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI.

Meanwhile, the Data Center Coalition, the industry association and lobbying group representing the sector, has not yet commented on the protests. The coalition had previously told Reuters that data centers are committed to being responsible neighbors in the communities where they operate.