More than four hundred Washingtonians across 19 locations took to the streets Sunday to demand a statewide moratorium on data centers.

In Walla Walla, where a $4.8 billion Amazon data center project is planned, the tension among opponents and local officials was palpable.

“Some of you standing here today have been called extremists and communists for standing with us,” Ben Mattice, co-founder of the Walla Walla Anti-Data Center League said to a crowd of about 60. “You are not extremists for wanting transparency. You are not extremists for wanting clean drinking water.”

The state, home to 130 data centers, offers tax breaks on labor and new computer equipment for data center operators. Washington ranks 10th in the country for the number of data centers in operation.

“It is our job to call on officials … to protect our communities and to, at the very least, put a pause on hyperscale data centers,” Mattice said.

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