Darren Blanchard, a farmer from Tulsa, Oklahoma, was arrested during a Claremore City Council town hall meeting to discuss a proposed Claremore Data Center Project called Project Mustang. The organizers established a three-minute limit for each speaker, and Mr. Blanchard went over time by less than a minute. As per a video recording of the session, City Manager John Feary told Blanchard that he had exceeded his time limit around 15 seconds after the time expired. Blanchard continued speaking. About 30 seconds later, two police officers approached him after someone said, “Please, take care of it.” He then went towards the front of the meeting place, apparently to hand copies of his speech to the counselors, but was soon arrested by officers.
According to the police report obtained by the publication, Mr. Blanchard was arrested for trespassing after he was asked to stop and didn’t comply. “City Manager John Feary addressed Blanchard, informing him to stop, and he continued. Feary then notified police to have Blanchard removed. I informed Blanchard that he was asked to leave and needed to do so,” the arresting officer said in their Probable Cause Affidavit. “Blanchard then continued to the front of the room where counselors sat behind a table and insisted on giving them paperwork. Sergeant Singer then directed me to place Blanchard under arrest for trespassing. Blanchard was placed in handcuffs, escorted from the property, and transported to Rogers County Jail.”
The arrest happened on February 17, 2026, during a public hearing for Project Mustang, which is planned to be developed by Beale Infrastructure at the Claremore Industrial Park. Many residents are against the development because of their fears about its impact on public services, including electricity rates and water supply, as well as noise pollution. The Claremore website says that Project Mustang will not affect property taxes and utility rates for Claremore residents, say that “The developer will be responsible for the upfront payment of all infrastructure improvements required for the project,” and that “The facility is planned as an air-cooled operation, and water use will be limited, including routine domestic functions such as restrooms, employee break rooms, and minimal irrigation.”
However, all these assurances have not calmed the concerns of the residents, especially as electricity prices have increased in other states and regions where there is a heavy presence of data centers. More importantly, they have noted the fact that the project was initially concealed and that the residents didn’t know about it until someone leaked information on Facebook, reports Fox 23 news. This left some in the community feeling that they’ve been set aside for the potential millions of dollars that the city will make from the data centers, with some asking why city officials signed non-disclosure agreements about the project.
Claremore Economic Development Executive Director Meggie Froman-Knight said in a statement to the news channel: “Non-disclosure agreements are lawful and routinely used for industrial projects in Oklahoma. They allow public entities to review and verify company information while protecting proprietary materials and security-sensitive infrastructure details. Releasing confidential information prematurely could expose taxpayers to legal liability, compromise competitive positions, or raise public-safety concerns. All records are released as required under Oklahoma law, and NDAs do not override the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act or the Oklahoma Open Records Act.”
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