DOJ Invokes Iran War to Shield xAI's Polluting Gas Turbines from NAACP Lawsuit

The Department of Justice has intervened on behalf of Elon Musk's xAI in a pollution lawsuit, arguing in a federal filing that shutting down the company's unpermitted natural gas turbines would undermine U.S. military operations — including ongoing strikes against Iran. The DOJ, joined by xAI and the state of Mississippi, is asking the court to dismiss the suit, which was filed by the NAACP in April over Clean Air Act violations at xAI's Colossus 2 data center in Southaven, Mississippi.

The DOJ memorandum claims that only four AI models — including xAI's Grok — currently support mission-critical operations on Secret and Top-Secret classified military networks. A declaration from Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon's chief digital and AI officer, goes further, stating that the military is actively using Grok's Gov model to support operations tied to the Iran War, and that cutting power to Colossus 2 would directly threaten ongoing national security interests.

The NAACP's original April lawsuit identified 27 unpermitted turbines at the Southaven site. But emails obtained by the Southern Environmental Law Center — a legal partner in the suit — reveal the number had grown to 57 by mid-May, with many added after the lawsuit was filed. That expansion has driven a 111% increase in nitrogen oxide emissions, an 83% jump in fine particulate (PM2.5) emissions, and an 88% rise in formaldehyde at the site since April, according to the SELC.

The case echoes a controversy that erupted in 2024, when residents near xAI's first data center in southwest Memphis — a region with some of the nation's highest asthma rates — complained about unpermitted turbines there as well. Both Tennessee and Mississippi state agencies have argued xAI has a year to operate without clean air permits, a position the NAACP argues contradicts EPA regulations. The NAACP filed a preliminary injunction request in May, warning that continued turbine operation raises risks of asthma attacks and heart disease in communities already bearing a disproportionate pollution burden.