A Black Baptist pastor in Arkansas was suspended from Facebook May 30 without explanation. Wendell Griffen, however, believes he was removed from the social media platform because of proposing a 12-month moratorium on permitting data centers, AI campuses and cryptocurrency mining operations in Pulaski County, which includes Little Rock.
Griffen is a retired circuit court judge who serves as pastor of New Millennium Baptist Church in Little Rock. He also is a candidate for Pulaski County judge, the top administrative leadership role in the county.
Facebook, which is owned by Meta, will suspend account holders for a variety of reasons, including posting content that involves hate speech, harassment, graphic or explicit content, bullying or promoting illegal or dangerous activities. Other reasons for suspension include creating fake accounts, spamming, copyright infringement and spreading false information, specifically concerning elections or health.
Wendell Griffen
Griffen’s posts do not appear to have violated any of those criteria, but it is impossible to discern Facebook’s reasons for the suspension.
“I suspect that my Facebook account was suspended due to displeasure about my views. I have never posted anything on Facebook that violates its terms of use,” Griffen later wrote on Substack.
The suspension happened “shortly after I posted my latest position statement on regulating the land use impacts of high-intensity digital infrastructure facilities on unincorporated areas of Pulaski County,” he said. “My post also included my explanation that a 12-month moratorium is needed so Pulaski County — home to Little Rock Central High School, our state Capitol and a precious supply of fresh water, clean air and mix of urban and rural residents — can establish and implement a fair, transparent and effective regulatory framework for data centers, artificial intelligence computing campuses, and cryptocurrency mining operations.”
Such concerns have been spreading nationwide as bipartisan opposition to the environmental and infrastructure demands of data centers are better understood.
Earlier in the week, Pulaski County Quorum Court was said to have approved a year-long pause on new data centers but exempted AVAIO Digital’s planned data center near Wrightsville from the temporary ban. The issue has been highly contentious, with many elected officials touting the economic benefits of the projects and citizens raising concerns about loss of farmland, excessive use of drinking water and increases in electricity costs.
The day after that vote, however, Pulaski County Clerk Terri Hollingsworth said she miscounted the votes in favor of the moratorium. The referendum needed a two-thirds majority — 10 out of 15 votes — for adoption. In reality, she said, eight justices of the peace voted for the measure, six voted no and one voted present. Hollingsworth previously recorded the vote as 10 in favor, four against and one present.
In March, Gallup surveyed Americans and found majorities of all demographic groups oppose the rapid growth of data centers in their communities. Gallup reported seven in 10 Americans oppose constructing data centers for artificial intelligence in their areas, including 48% who are strongly opposed. Only 27% favor such projects.
Griffen said he will “continue to publish my views about the need to take time and carefully regulate HIDI facilities. … A 12-month moratorium will not mean that Pulaski County has banned or intends to ban HIDI facilities. It will simply show that we have the good sense to delay permits for those facilities for a reasonable time so we can make prudent decisions about how to protect the health, safety and well-being of more than 60,000 people who live in Pulaski County’s unincorporated communities from the impacts of HIDI facilities on the electric grid, water supply and wastewater treatment, transportation, fire response and suppression, emergency medical response, and other vital systems that are essential for our people.”
For now, Griffen has moved his comments to Substack, which is a private company unrelated to Facebook. However, some of Griffen’s supporters are continuing to use Facebook to advocate for Griffen’s reinstatement.