xAI and DOJ: Lawyers Call Colossus 2 'Vital' for Security

The Department of Justice intervened in the NAACP’s lawsuit over xAI’s natural gas turbines on Monday, asking the court to dismiss the case and block the NAACP’s bid to halt turbine operations. The DOJ argued that attempts to stop xAI from running the turbines threaten American national, economic, and energy security by cutting power to AI infrastructure used by classified government networks.

What did the DOJ say and what is the legal fight now?

The DOJ filed a memorandum asking the court to dismiss the NAACP suit and joined xAI and the state of Mississippi in that request. The NAACP sued in April, alleging xAI ran unpermitted turbines at its Colossus 2 data center in Southaven, Mississippi, and in May asked for a preliminary injunction to stop the turbines, saying their operation without a permit "increases risks of asthma attacks and heart disease" in heavily polluted communities. The DOJ’s filing frames the dispute as one where forcing xAI to stop the turbines would cut power to AI systems that support classified operations; a separate declaration by Cameron Stanley of the Department of Defense says those systems include Grok’s Gov model and that halting Colossus 2 "directly threatens ongoing national security interests."

How many turbines are operating and how have emissions changed?

The NAACP’s original complaint identified 27 turbines operating without a permit at Colossus 2, but state-regulator emails obtained by the Southern Environmental Law Center show that by mid-May there were 57 turbines running without permits. That growth from 27 to 57 turbines corresponds, the SELC says, to a 111 percent increase in nitrogen oxide emissions, an 83 percent increase in PM2.5 emissions, and an 88 percent increase in formaldehyde emissions since April. The filings and emails also note that many turbines were added weeks after the NAACP filed its complaint in April.

What else is in the filings about the models and military use?

The DOJ memorandum asserts there are only four AI models, including Grok, that "support mission-critical operations across Secret and Top-Secret classified networks." The DoD declaration by Cameron Stanley states the military relies on Grok’s Gov model to support vital national security missions and says the model was used as part of recent strikes against Iran. The filings treat continued operation of Colossus 2 as linked to those missions and argue that shutting down the turbines would jeopardize ongoing operations.

Why it matters

The DOJ’s intervention reframes an environmental permitting dispute as a national security question, bringing the federal government into direct conflict with a civil-rights group over local pollution and public-health claims. That raises a broader tension between communities alleging immediate health harms from unpermitted industrial activity and federal actors asserting classified operational needs. The case will test how courts weigh statutory environmental protections against asserted national-security dependencies when private AI infrastructure is involved.

What to watch

Watch the court’s response to the DOJ motion to dismiss and the NAACP’s request for a preliminary injunction; both were filed after the NAACP sued in April and sought emergency relief in May. Also watch state enforcement positions: Tennessee and Mississippi agencies have told regulators the company can run turbines for a year without permits, a point the NAACP disputes as inconsistent with EPA rules. The article was updated on 6/16/2026 with a post-publication NAACP statement.