DOJ Seeks to Dismiss NAACP Air Pollution Lawsuit Against SpaceX's xAI, Citing National Security on June 15

According to a Department of Justice motion filed June 15, the DOJ asked a federal court in Mississippi to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the NAACP against SpaceX-owned xAI over alleged air pollution violations. The NAACP alleged in April that xAI violated the federal Clean Air Act by operating methane gas-burning turbines to power AI data centers near Memphis, Tennessee, without proper permits or pollution controls. DOJ attorneys claimed the suit threatened "American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply for artificial-intelligence innovation that supports the Department of War's military operations."

According to the DOJ filing, the military version of Grok enabled U.S. forces to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during operations in Iran. The NAACP and its co-counsel Earth Justice and the Southern Environment Law Center have opposed the DOJ's intervention, arguing it undermines citizen suits used to protect communities from pollution.