The Republican nominee for the newly redrawn 9th Congressional District blamed his opponent, State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), after a Memphis City Council meeting erupted into shouting, clearing the chamber and reportedly sparking a fight in the hallway.
“My opponent Democratic Socialist Justin Pearson let his chaos flag fly and led an angry mob to shut down a city council meeting tonight (which is something he has great experience at doing),” wrote State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) in a post to X. “This election truly is a choice between competence and chaos.”
Taylor wrote, “The only time Democratic Socialist Justin Pearson should ever enter the United States Capitol is through the visitors’ center on a guided tour and not through the members’ only door.”
Though Taylor blamed Justin Pearson, video from the meeting shows it collapsed after members voted 7-5 to postpone action on a proposed data center moratorium until October 20. After the shouting began, the council postponed all further action until the October 20 meeting.
Video uploaded to social media by Todd Starnes, the Memphis-based radio host, showed a line of police separating the crowd from the council. Members of the crowd shouted while some council members appeared to answer.
“Violence breaks out at Memphis City Hall during a council meeting over [Elon Musk’s] data centers,” wrote Starnes. “Punches were flown and at one point – hair weaves went flying!”
Memphis is home to the SpaceXAI data centers that house Grok, the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) chat bot. SpaceXAI is owned by Elon Musk.
BREAKING NEWS: Violence breaks out at Memphis City Hall during a council meeting over @elonmusk data centers. Punches were flown and at one point – hair weaves went flying! pic.twitter.com/UT78TuD988
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) October 6, 2026
Though it is unclear how many of the protesters who descended on Memphis politicians this week were inspired by this group, Justin Pearson co-founded the Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) activist group. Justin Pearson previously argued that his work with MCAP helped kill an industrial project in the city.
With Justin Pearson now campaigning for Congress, his brother KeShaun Pearson now leads the organization and planned a “Memphis Week of Action” to oppose AI data centers in the city.
According to a flyer published by the Action Network, the week began Thursday with a community meeting featuring both Justin Pearson and Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley. On Friday, activists were invited to a “Community Speak Out and Art Activation,” followed by a “Rally and March to Memphis City Council” on the day of the meeting.
The MCAP website also states that the march assembled at Fourth Bluff Park, less than a mile from Memphis City Hall.
Shortly before the meeting began, Justin Pearson also reportedly appeared with his brother for an MCAP press conference held outside Memphis City Hall.
Watch the full council meeting on YouTube:
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
