Online attacks and Luigi Mangione-inspired death threats in ugly brawl to build California AI megaproject

A vicious online attack — allegedly put into motion by a California nonprofit — to torpedo the construction of a massive AI data center led to calls for “public executions” and Luigi Mangione-inspired death threats, according to a new lawsuit.

The defamation lawsuit, filed by Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing and its attorney, Sebastian Rucci, claims nonprofit Comite Civico del Valle (CCV) is attempting to stall the data center project in a bid to force a financial settlement.

The group also hired Jake Tison to allegedly create a brutal online campaign, “publishing over 100 false and defamatory posts and videos across social media platforms” in an effort to make IVCM and Rucci look bad, according to the lawsuit.

Tison’s purported online posts called Rucci a “life-long fraud” and accused him of violating the California Environmental Quality Act, a statute that has become notorious for being leveraged to gum up development projects across the state, court documents obtained by The California Post said.

The suit alleges Tison spread false posts that Rucci had been thrown in jail for fraud. In reality, Rucci did spend a month in jail but for a misdemeanor liquor license violation, not fraud, according to the suit. 

Tison’s alleged online attacks then spiraled into something more violent and dangerous when his followers began to read his posts, according to Rucci and IVCM.

The lawsuit alleges Tison’s followers commented things like “public executions” and threatened to “burn the data center to the ground.” “Why can’t somebody just get him like Luigi did with the UntiedHealthcare CEO,” another wrote.

CC presents itself as an environmental justice nonprofit, but has “perfected a lucrative greenmail extortion racket: it files CEQA challenges to delay projects, then demands massive “public benefit” settlements that it alone controls,” according to the documents.

“Defendants also engaged in environmental terrorism by intimidating Imperial County Supervisors with threats of “slaughter at the voting booth” and placing their photos on milk cartons to coerce denial of a ministerial lot merger,” according to the documents.

Rucci’s lawsuit is the latest salvo in the furious battle to build the state’s largest artificial intelligence data supplier. Google is in line to become the tenant of the data goliath should the project get built, according to written communications reviewed by The Post. A Google spokesperson said the company isn’t involved with the project.

“The ultimate tenant will surface when the environmental terrorists, and their hired-thug propagandists, are forced to scatter like cockroaches after being exposed for their actions,” Rucci said in an interview with The Post. “They are extortionists, not environmentalists.”

Douglas Carstens, an attorney for CCV, said in a statement: “This lawsuit is meritless and its foundational claims lack a factual basis. The intention of this lawsuit should be questioned by all who value transparency, community voice, and the fundamental right of organizations to engage in good-faith policy advocacy on issues affecting the health, environment, and future of the Imperial Valley. CCV has worked tirelessly to ensure communities are protected from the environmental harms that proposed projects can bring, and those efforts should not be misconstrued.”

Rucci said he has the stomach to take on the activists but it’s a drag on time and resources. He said onerous state regulations can easily be hijacked to make building near impossible.

The Imperial county project demonstrates the challenges of building large data centers in California, despite the state being the technology capital of the world. Khara Boender, who lobbies on behalf of data center development for the Data Center Coalition, said developers are increasingly considering moving potential projects out of state because of the tough regulatory environment.

Rucci’s company, Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, says the $10 billion project will create jobs and generate $28.75 million in annual property tax revenue.

The project has already featured a headspinning amount of drama since it was proposed in 2024: The city of Imperial has sued the county, arguing the project should not have received an exemption from California Environmental Quality Act. Rucci then sued the city earlier this year, in addition to now suing the activists who oppose the project.   

Last month, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors held a meeting to solicit feedback from residents and allow Rucci to try to warm them up. The meeting ended, according to Rucci, with him having to evacuate because tensions involving residents and activists nearly boiled over as protestors chanted “We don’t care! It’s hot air!”

In written comments posted by the county, residents cite a litany of concerns about the project, including the health impacts on nearby neighborhoods, potential utility price hikes and the environmental strain of building a water intensive data center in a desert. Data centers use large amounts of water to cool equipment. 

 
Attorney Alene Taber, representing the city of Imperial, said in an interview that the developer and county have tried to skirt procedures and regulations in an attempt to fast track the project.

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