Frederick County Board Rejects 2 Data Center Projects as Foreign-Linked Activists Draw Scrutiny
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 21
Frederick County Board Rejects 2 Data Center Projects as Foreign-Linked Activists Draw Scrutiny
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 21
Summary
Frederick County officials moved against two proposed data center developments, voting 10-0 in June to recommend denying a 220-acre Clearbrook project and 7-1 to reject a separate 71.8-acre Winchester plan.
Local opposition centered on electricity use, environmental impact, jobs and security risks, with activist Jack Tensley pressing those concerns before the planning commission in January.
Digital records cited in the report link Tensley to the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a Marxist-Leninist group that the Bitcoin Policy Institute says has organized anti-data-center campaigns in at least 14 states targeting about $23.6 billion in AI investment.
That scrutiny extends to Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based businessman who sold his tech company for $800 million; lawmakers including Sen. Tom Cotton have urged a Justice Department probe into a broader China-linked nonprofit network.
The fight highlights a wider clash as the U.S. races to build AI infrastructure while local zoning battles increasingly intersect with national politics and foreign-influence concerns.