The Memphis City Council vote on Tuesday regarding a proposed data center moratorium led to a chaotic scene. Tensions rose as the council decided to delay any action on imposing stricter controls on data centers, as reported by The Commercial Appeal.

The audience expressed their dissatisfaction by booing and standing up once the council announced the postponement. Following this reaction, some council members left the chamber, causing the meeting to end prematurely, noted the outlet.

An altercation also erupted in the City Hall lobby, although the exact cause remains unclear. According to WREG, a video shared online shows the scuffle, where punches were exchanged, and a person called someone a “sellout.”

“This is the scene after they voted to push the data center moratorium down the line,” The Commercial Appeal reporter Annie Goldman commented on X. “Council members being ushered out, heavy police presence, and advocates are not happy.”

The debate on data center restrictions is ongoing following the construction of two hyperscale data centers by Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI in the Boxtown and Whitehaven neighborhoods of Memphis.

In the days leading up to the meeting, the activist group Indivisible Memphis expressed their concerns on Instagram, stating, “Memphis belongs to Memphis — not Elon Musk.”

This story is still unfolding, with further updates expected.