The Trump administration’s Department of Justice is intervening in a lawsuit filed against artificial intelligence giant xAI, arguing that the company’s use of gas turbines at a Southaven, Mississippi, energy plant is vital to national security.
In a Monday filing, the Department of Justice asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the NAACP in April, claiming that the organization lacks legal standing to bring the complaint. The DOJ was joined by a Department of Defense official and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, both of whom provided statements supporting the lawsuit’s dismissal.
By bringing the lawsuit, “the NAACP threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War’s military operations,” the DOJ wrote in the court filing. “There is no question the United States is entitled to intervene.”
xAI’s plant in Southaven powers its data centers in neighboring Tennessee, which in turn power Grok, the company’s controversial AI chatbot. Since last summer, Mississippi has allowed the facility to operate a growing number of natural gas turbines without permits, sparking sustained public backlash and complaints about noise and air pollution. xAI currently has 57 turbines at the plant, up from 27 in February, the NAACP alleges in recent court filings.
The NAACP’s April lawsuit accuses xAI of endangering public health and breaking federal law, insisting that the Clean Air Act requires permits and pollution controls for the turbines housed in Southaven. The group has requested an injunction to shut down the machines while the broader litigation plays out.
In its filing Monday, the DOJ argued that the Clean Air Act “affords the United States primacy over citizen-enforcers” like the NAACP, giving the federal government discretion over when and how the law should be enforced. The agency also highlighted Grok’s pivotal role in “national security” applications, including recent military operations against Iran.
“Grok’s continued operation and availability ‘is a matter of paramount national security,’” the filing states, citing an attached briefing from Cameron Davis, the DOD’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer.
The DOJ’s filing drew criticism from civil rights and environmental groups, including Earthjustice, which is representing the NAACP in the case.
“Trump’s Justice Department wants to shield Elon Musk’s data center company, xAI, from being held accountable for its illegal pollution—and it’s attempting to grab power from impacted communities, the courts, and Congress to do so,” Laura Thoms, director of enforcement at Earthjustice, said in a Tuesday statement. “This isn’t about national security; it’s a desperate attempt to protect wealthy tech companies from obeying the laws meant to protect people from pollution.”
xAI now faces multiple lawsuits over its operations in Southaven, where the company is building a new data center down the road from its energy plant. Last week, a group of Southaven residents filed a class-action suit against the tech giant, alleging that persistent noise from its turbines is harming their property values and quality of life.
