Punches thrown and council members ushered out as Memphis City Hall erupts over Musk data centres

From the Newshound archive · first published 7 October 2026.

Furious Memphis residents screaming 'sellouts' and 'bought and sold' through bullhorns forced police to triple their presence at City Hall after the council abruptly postponed a vote on pausing Elon Musk's data centre development. Councillwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton was removed from the chamber after clashing with both protesters and fellow council member JB Smiley. A work session has been scheduled for Thursday 8 October to resolve the remaining details before any final vote.

The proposed moratorium would halt new data centre development for up to a year, or until Memphis adopts a permanent regulatory framework.

Councillor Michalyn Easter-Thomas moved to extend the pause from 12 to 18 months before the vote was held over entirely.

Protesters from Indivisible Memphis marched arm in arm outside the building chanting 'Memphis belongs to Memphis, not Elon Musk.'