Judge blocks council from banning attendees after chaotic AI data center vote
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Memphis City Council chair from banning six people from upcoming meetings following a contentious vote on an AI data center moratorium. The judge ruled that the bans likely violated council rules and amounted to viewpoint discrimination, while leaving restrictions on vulgar or profane speech in place.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker issued a 14-day order preventing Memphis City Council Chair Jana Swearengen-Washington from enforcing bans that barred six people from attending upcoming council meetings. The restrictions followed an Oct. 6 meeting attended by more than 400 people, where chanting and bullhorns erupted after a vote on an AI data center moratorium.
The plaintiffs, including activist KeShaun Pearson, sued after being excluded under the council’s Speech and Decorum Policy. Parker found that the policy appeared to allow warnings or removal during the meeting but not future bans, and said the selective enforcement of restrictions on allegedly impertinent or abusive remarks likely constituted viewpoint discrimination. The council may still enforce viewpoint-neutral decorum rules in real time, and the court left bans on vulgar or profane speech in place pending further proceedings.