Two Project Jupiter foes accused of disorderly contact at commission meeting
Two individuals were cited for disorderly conduct at a Doña Ana County Commission meeting during an ongoing protest against Project Jupiter, a massive data center project. This incident occurred on the one-year anniversary of the controversial approval of industrial revenue bonds for the project. The commission also announced a monitoring committee to address environmental concerns and adopted new transparency policies.
At a Doña Ana County Commission meeting in Las Cruces, two individuals were cited for disorderly conduct amidst ongoing protests against Project Jupiter, a large data center project in Santa Teresa intended for AI infrastructure by companies like Oracle and OpenAI. The incident coincided with the one-year anniversary of the controversial vote to approve $165 billion in industrial revenue bonds for the project.
Project opponents, including Karla Ledezma of Sunland Park and Sylvia Yancey, have consistently voiced concerns about the data center's impact, economic contributions from companies like Oracle (which recently established a $1 million education fund for the Gadsden Independent School District), and the conduct of commissioners. Yancey was briefly detained and released after being cited. This event follows a previous incident on July 28 where three protesters were arrested, leading to a civil rights lawsuit.
During the same meeting, commissioners announced the formation of an 11-member Project Jupiter monitoring committee. This panel will conduct independent forums to investigate the data center's potential effects on water, air, noise, pollution, and other environmental factors. Additionally, the commission unanimously adopted new policies to enhance transparency beyond the Open Meetings Act requirements, including posting agendas 144 hours in advance, attaching copies of documents, livestreaming meetings, and allowing public input. This move comes as a separate lawsuit progresses, alleging violations of state law during the closed session where the Project Jupiter bonds were initially approved.