Residents Protest Outside Invite-Only Meeting Between Washington County Commissioners, Developers, A.I. Data Center Reps

Residents Protest Outside Invite-Only Meeting Between Washington County Commissioners, Developers, A.I. Data Center Reps

News ClipPA Environment Digest Blog·Washington, Washington County, PA·3/12/2026

Residents of Washington County, Pennsylvania held a protest outside a closed-door meeting between the county commissioners and representatives from AI data center companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI. The residents are opposed to the lack of transparency and community engagement around the data center projects, accusing the commissioners of prioritizing corporate interests over the concerns of local residents.

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AnthropicOpenAIxAI
Gov: Washington County Board of Commissioners
Demonstrators held signs, gave speeches and led chants calling out Washington County Commissioners for making backroom deals on data center projects without listening to concerns from the residents who will be forced to live near them. “We’ve been speaking at public meetings, signing pe