The U.S. Department of Justice stepped into a legal fight over Elon Musk‘s xAI and the natural gas turbines powering its Southaven, Mississippi, data center, urging a judge to toss the case. Federal lawyers argued that blocking the turbines would, in their view, endanger U.S. national, economic, and energy interests tied to artificial-intelligence work used by the military.

In court papers the agency reported that it joined xAI and the state of Mississippi in seeking dismissal of a lawsuit the NAACP filed in April, Wired reported. The complaint targets turbine operations at xAI's second data center site in Southaven, known as Colossus 2.

Benzinga reached out to xAI, the Department of Justice and the NAACP for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

The Justice Department memo asserted that only four AI models, including Grok, "support mission-critical operations across Secret and Top-Secret classified networks.

In a declaration from a Defense Department official, Cameron Stanley said the model is being used to support "national security applications," in connection with recent strikes involving Iran, adding that cutting off power to the site "directly threatens ongoing national security interests."

The NAACP says xAI is operating turbines without required Clean Air Act permits and putting nearby residents at risk. 

In a May filing seeking an emergency order, the group wrote that continued unpermitted use "increases risks of asthma attacks and heart disease" for communities it says already face heavy pollution exposure.

The NAACP's original filing listed 27 turbines it said were running without permits at the Southaven site, but the Southern Environmental Law Center, which is working with the NAACP, pointed to emails with regulators indicating 57 turbines were operating by mid-May. The group said that change implies higher emissions since April, including increases in nitrogen oxides, PM2.5, and formaldehyde.

"At a time when the ultra-rich seem to be protected and supported by some of our government entities, it is important that polluting industries don't get to benefit at the expense of the health of Black communities. Citizen suits are a bedrock insurance policy for communities to hold polluters accountable for decisions that cause them harm. This should not be up for debate, and the NAACP will continue to stand up for democracy and against federal bullying and authoritarianism," Abre' Conner, NAACP director of environmental and climate justice, told Wired.

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