An anti-data center activist helped stall a project planned for an abandoned mall just outside Washington, D.C. — and now she wants her county to ban them all.
asserted
county → help → them
Taylor Frazier McCollum, also known as “the Landover girl,” started a petition that drew more than 25,000 signatures against a $5 billion data center project, which was planned for the empty site of a former mall in Landover, Maryland, WAMU reported.
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WAMU → know → Landover
Local opposition to data centers led to roughly 40 communities voting to restrict or ban projects in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, and the issue was “crucial” for 23 percent of voters, according to CNN’s exit poll.
uncertain
issue → lead → poll
“I was like, ‘Oh, hell no,’” Frazier McCollum said, WAMU reported.
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WAMU → say → ?
“Why would you want to bring water-polluting, diesel-generating data centers right down the street from where people live, work, play?
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people → want → street
It just didn’t make sense to me.”
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It → make → me
The petition and subsequent protests led to local data center moratoriums, and the Landover data center is now on hold, according to WAMU.
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center → lead → WAMU
A local official, Council Member Wanika Fisher, told Frazier McCollum the county’s “economic future” must be addressed, WAMU reported.
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WAMU → tell → McCollum
The county is facing major concerns, including poor economic conditions, a budget deficit, decreased tax revenue and job loss.
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county → face → conditions
Frazier McCollum was evicted from her apartment in 2024 and learned about the proposed data center when she moved in with her grandfather, WAMU reported.
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WAMU → evict → grandfather
She now advocates for data centers in her community to be banned and said she needs to set a “precedent” for the country.
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she → advocate → country
(RELATED: Massive AI Data Center Left In The Dark Until 2030s As Microsoft Walks Away)
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Microsoft → leave → 2030s
Lerner Enterprises — the developer behind the data center, county officials and Frazier McCollum did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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Enterprises → respond → comment
Lacy McCollum Jr., Frazier McCollum’s father, compared his daughter’s work to that of civil rights activists and said data centers are about a “right” to water, air and homes, according to WAMU.
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centers → compare → WAMU
“While I’m afraid for her, we need those people,” McCollum Jr. said, WAMU reported.
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WAMU → ’m → people
“We needed the Medgar Evers.
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We → need → Evers
We needed the Martin Luther Kings.
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We → need → Kings
We needed the Malcolm X’s.
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We → need → X
People like Taylor, they jump out here so the people behind them get to make progress.”
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people → jump → progress
Frazier McCollum was interviewed in a Sept. 2025 Party for Socialism and Liberation Instagram post.
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McCollum → interview → post
She collaborated on the PSL’s post with the organization’s Washington, D.C. and Baltimore chapters, the national PSL organization and the county’s local No Data Center in Landover anti-data center organization.
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She → collaborate → Landover
“We do have concerns of environmental racism because they’re putting [the data center] in Landover for a reason; we already got [FedEx Field] in our backyard,” she said in the interview, according to the PSL’s post.
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she → have → post
The PSL is a Marxist-Leninist organization, with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, that aims to overthrow the U.S. capitalist system and replace it with a socialist one.
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that → aim → one
Same thing happened in Western NY.
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thing → happen → NY
Local IG Reels activist fomented outrage against a data center proposed for an abandoned steel and coke processing plant.
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activist → foment → plant
Killed the project https://t.co/Qe4XmFCx3k
— BOBBY MARS (@bobby_on_mars) November 10, 2026
The anti-data center activist’s Change.org petition said the county did not inform the community about the project and address concerns before approving it.
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county → kill → it
“The old Landover Mall site holds a special place in our community’s history and hearts,” the petition stated in part.
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petition → hold → part
“Turning it into a massive data center complex will not only disrupt the visual landscape of our neighborhood but also bring along potential environmental and socio-economic impacts that the residents were never consulted about.
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residents → turn → that
Similarly, a $2 billion data center project in Tonawanda, New York, was blocked by the state’s one-year moratorium, signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul on July 14.
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project → block → July
Tonawanda unanimously approved a data center moratorium on Aug. 3.
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Tonawanda → approve → Aug.
The Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus would have been located at the town’s former coke plant and would have taken up 140 acres.
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Campus → locate → acres
“Do you just fucking hate AI?” one activist said on Instagram in reference to the Tonawanda data center, in a screenshot shared on X.
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activist → hate → X.
The Aporia
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