Overview
- A protester identified as Aspen Azalea was removed by Utah County Sheriff's deputies and booked on misdemeanor charges after a tense planning commission meeting on data centers on Tuesday.
- Video circulated online shows deputies escorting a woman out of the chamber and the woman hitting the lobby floor while an officer places a hand near her neck, fueling public outcry.
- The sheriff's office says the woman struck a deputy in the groin and that the deputy and the protester went to the ground, a claim Azalea denies and calls an assault.
- Provo Fire Department EMTs told deputies they found no emergent injuries at the scene, but Azalea says she suffered a concussion and later sought medical care; two other attendees received citations.
- The confrontation followed a planning commission vote to recommend new data‑center rules — including water‑use caps, well‑impact studies, monitoring and size limits — and has sharpened debate over how and where data centers can be sited in Utah County.