A Call to Arms

14-year-old girl removed by police from public Lowell data center meeting

Published: Jul. 01, 2026, 1:20 p.m.

It was attended by at least 40 residents inside the Butler Middle School auditorium, according to footage of the meeting uploaded to YouTube. Before tensions boiled over, residents spent an hour voicing concerns about Lowell’s existing data center and the prospect of future facilities in the city.

Read more: Lowell enacts first data center moratorium in Massachusetts

“I don’t want to trade my health, my family’s health, my neighbors’ health ... for a data center,” one attendee said, echoing comments from others who criticized the industry’s energy use, water consumption and environmental impacts.

During the comment period, video showed the 14-year-old girl who would later be escorted out raised her hand multiple times.

At the end of the meeting, she then called out from her seat without a microphone, “Everyone ... I understand that you said that was the last question, but I urge you to please listen to me.”

“You’re free to leave while I speak, but I am 14 years old,” she continued.

“I just graduated from Stoklosa Middle School. I am the future —“ she said, until her voice was abruptly overwhelmed by a roar from the crowd as a nearby police officer grabbed her by the arm. He then escorted her down the auditorium stairs.

That figures. 🙄

I'm not surprised.

Are you surprised? 🤦‍♀️🤦

Vaughn Hillyard and David Rohde at MS NOW:

Dozens of intelligence officials began receiving notice of their terminations on Thursday under Bill Pulte, the new acting director of national intelligence. An intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to potential reprisal, told MS NOW that the individuals being removed by the Trump administration are officials “who they believe are deep state.” Intelligence leadership alleges that the fired workers have not provided complete pictures of available intelligence, the official said. The moves come after Pulte’s elimination last month of six political appointees who served under Tulsi Gabbard, the previous director of national intelligence. Four former senior intelligence officials told MS NOW that they had never heard of intelligence officials withholding information from officials above them. “The premise is absurd,” one of the former officials said.

Another of the former officials questioned how Pulte, who has no experience working in intelligence, would be able to make such a determination so quickly. “I have a real question of how he would know this. This isn’t a guy who is familiar with intelligence,” said the former official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing concerns about retaliation. “How is he going to get to the bottom of this and rely on any information with a matter of fidelity? It would be like me taking over a hospital and firing dozens of surgeons in a matter of days.” Both former officials noted that Pulte’s office itself does not collect intelligence. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence receives it from the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and 15 other agencies. He said that CIA Director John Ratcliffe, for example, would know of such a problem.