A Utah state senator physically knocked a phone from an ABC4 reporter’s hand while the crew was covering a disputed data center project approval in Box Elder County.
Key Takeaways
Incident occurred during reporting on aftermath of a contentious Box Elder County data center project approval.
ABC4’s crew was also issued a trespassing notice following the confrontation.
The data center project involves ongoing local controversy, suggesting community opposition to the approval process.
Hacker News Comment Review
Commenters question whether the underlying data center project is even real: one points to Kevin O’Leary’s involvement and argues there is no actual industry financing to build anything.
The press intimidation pattern seen here – senator assault plus trespassing notice for press – is framed as part of a broader trend of suppressing local opposition to data center buildouts, with a referenced Oklahoma arrest at a town hall as parallel evidence.
Notable Comments
@nradov: calls the project “fake” citing absence of industry financing and links a YouTube breakdown of Kevin O’Leary’s involvement.
@janice1999: “The class system in the US has never been more on display” – ties trespassing notice and police response to a pattern of suppressing data center opposition.
