Congressional intelligence bureau warns of threats to Congress linked to data center opposition, despite acknowledging no actual threats under investigation

The U.S. Capitol Police Intelligence Services Bureau, created after January 6, produced an internal intelligence report in April warning that artificial intelligence-related policies on Capitol Hill and in local communities are drawing opposition that could increase concerns for public officials. The report acknowledges that the Capitol Police is not investigating any data center-motivated threats to Members of Congress.

The report monitors social media content critical of data centers and cites examples of violent rhetoric, including posts stating "You can be damn sure there are thousands more rounds where this comes from, and if you keep voting for data centers, we will all begin returning to the early days of American freedom and express ourselves via violence over words" and "Threatening the politicians who actually make decisions is actually logical." The Capitol Police notes that neither of these comments represents an actionable threat.

A Gallup poll from this month found that seven in ten Americans oppose the local construction of data centers for AI, citing concerns including environmental pollution, increased utility prices from data center water and electricity use, possible government use of AI to spy on Americans, rising energy costs, and loss of jobs in certain industries.