DOJ seeks dismissal of NAACP air pollution lawsuit against Musk's xAI, citing Grok's role in Iran strikes

The U.S. Department of Justice intervened in a Mississippi federal court on Monday, asking a judge to dismiss a Clean Air Act lawsuit brought by the NAACP against Elon Musk's xAI. The civil rights group alleges that xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech have operated dozens of unpermitted natural gas turbines to power the Colossus 2 data center near Southaven, Mississippi, exposing predominantly Black communities to harmful pollution.

The NAACP lawsuit

The NAACP filed its suit in April, initially citing 27 gas turbines running without the air permits required by federal law. The turbines, mounted on trailers, burn natural gas and emit fine particulate matter (PM2.5), formaldehyde, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. The Southern Environmental Law Center, representing the NAACP, argues that the turbines are stationary sources subject to the Clean Air Act, even if mounted on wheels. By mid-May the count had climbed to 57, with plans to add two more, prompting the NAACP to seek an emergency injunction on June 12 to halt operations.

The plaintiffs say the unpermitted turbines worsen air quality in the Memphis area, which already has some of the highest asthma rates in the country.

“Our right to clean air is not up for negotiation, especially when companies prove expediency, not people, is their priority.”

National security justification

Late Monday, the Justice Department filed a motion to intervene and dismiss the case, arguing the lawsuit "threatens 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." Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the department's No. 3 official, said the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality had already determined no permit was required and that "ultimate responsibility for enforcing federal law belongs to the Executive Branch, not private interest groups."

At the center of the government's argument is the Grok Gov Model, an xAI product used by the Pentagon. Cameron Stanley, the Department of War's chief digital and AI officer, submitted a sworn declaration stating Grok is one of only four AI models capable of supporting mission-critical operations in top-secret settings. Stanley wrote that Grok was used with the Maven Smart System to help deploy "over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury", the U.S. and Israeli air campaign against Iran.

Civilian toll and AI targeting

The disclosure coincides with mounting scrutiny of AI-driven warfare. Military investigators believe U.S. forces likely struck a girls' school in Minab, Iran, killing at least 175 people, mostly children. Analysts have suggested that AI targeting systems, used alongside human decision-making, may have contributed to that strike, the deadliest incident for civilians since the conflict began in February. The Pentagon's use of Grok in the campaign has never been publicly detailed by an administration official before Stanley's filing.

Reaction from environmental groups

Earthjustice and the Southern Environmental Law Center, co-counsel for the NAACP, called DOJ's intervention unprecedented.

“It's remarkable for the United States to intervene on behalf of a polluter in a case like this. Ordinarily, they would intervene to enforce the law.”

Thoms, a former assistant chief for environmental enforcement at DOJ, said she knew of no previous instance where the department asserted the power to quash a citizen suit under the Clean Air Act on its own authority.

The court filing does not contest that xAI is operating without permits, only that the lawsuit should not proceed because of the facility's national security role. SpaceX, which now owns xAI, disclosed in its recent IPO filing that it intends to spend another $2.8 billion on gas turbines for AI data centers over the next three years, with at least $2 billion earmarked for mobile units.