Data center-related threats have been made against local authorities in Marshall, Michigan, according to city officials.

“Yesterday, I learned that members of the Marshall City Council, including myself, received what is being treated as a legitimate death threat related to anger over the data center and other issues happening in our community,” said Marshall City councilor James Hackworth.

“I’m going to say this plainly: this is absolutely insane…We can disagree. We can argue. We can passionately fight for what we believe is best for Marshall.”

Mayor Scott Wolfersberger also told News Channel 3 that police had contacted him on Wednesday about a “credible” threat.

“Threats and intimidation have no place in our community. We are neighbors first, and Marshall, and our city council members who only make $300 per year for their service, deserve better than this,” said councilor Ryan Traver.

The City of Marshall passed a one-year moratorium on new data center development just two weeks prior, on August 3.

It is unclear whether the threats were made by those in favor of or against data centers.

Opposition to data centers has intensified as hyperscalers, data center operators, and real estate developers race to make the most of the AI boom, raising a number of concerns about the environment, the availability of local resources, the anti-democratic nature of the planning process, and more.

There have been highly publicized and controversial cases of law enforcement arresting locals who speak over their allotted time in public meetings, and a small minority of data center opponents have employed threats and violence against local officials often perceived as being supportive of a given project.

Marshall is located in southern Michigan. There are no data centers in the city, according to Data Center Map.

Michigan was one of the states considering whether to impose a state-wide moratorium on data centers.