Staff Reports
A new national spotlight is shining on a local fight in Virginia. A Bitcoin Policy Institute report and a Fox News story say a Marxist organizer tied to the Party for Socialism and Liberation has helped lead local opposition to an AI data center in Frederick County. The story raises serious flags about foreign‑linked influence campaigns aiming to slow American AI infrastructure. This is about more than one meeting in a small town — it is about who gets to decide the future of U.S. technology and security.
BPI report: a coordinated campaign targeting AI data centers
The Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) published Part II of a report that lays out 21 anti–data‑center campaigns across 14 states. BPI says those efforts helped stall or block roughly $23.6 billion in proposed AI and data‑center investment. The report names the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) as playing a local organizing role in many cases and points to overlaps in a funding network tied to Shanghai‑based Neville Roy Singham. To be clear: BPI calls the funding picture “opaque” and does not claim every dollar flows directly from Singham to PSL. But the pattern BPI describes is worrying — well‑organized local activism backed by an international funding web can derail vital American AI infrastructure.
Local example: Jack Tensley and Frederick County
Fox News highlighted one local organizer, Jack Tensley, who testified before Frederick County planners against a proposed AI data center. Tensley told the board he feared cyberattacks and infrastructure risk. That testimony helped inspire local votes that recommended denial of projects in Clearbrook and Winchester. The Fox piece ties Tensley to PSL in public records and uses the BPI report to frame his action as part of a broader strategy. Whether Tensley acts out of genuine local concern or as part of a larger ground game, the effect is the same: American projects are delayed while foreign actors may be quietly shaping the debate.
Congressional pressure and federal scrutiny
Senator Tom Cotton has publicly urged the Department of Justice, writing to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate possible foreign influence on data‑center policy. Reporters say federal grand‑jury subpoenas and other scrutiny are developing around the larger Singham network. OpenAI’s threat team also reported a likely China‑linked operation that used AI tools to draft and amplify anti–data‑center messages, calling it the “Data Center Bandwagon.” These are not wild claims from the fringe — they are formal findings and requests from serious think tanks, tech firms, and a U.S. senator. If true, it means foreign actors are trying to weaponize local politics to slow American tech progress.
What this means and what should happen next
Data centers power AI and national defense systems. Letting outside money and opaque networks steer local zoning fights is a national security mistake. Local concerns about traffic and electricity deserve honest debate, but that debate should not be a cover for foreign influence campaigns that seek to weaken U.S. infrastructure. The DOJ should follow the leads, Congress should demand transparency on nonprofit funding, and local boards should require clear disclosures when organized groups show up at hearings. America needs to build its AI future here at home — not watch it stall while activists with shadowy overseas ties press the stop button. If we care about jobs, security, and innovation, it’s time to pull back the curtain and let sunlight do its work.
