Birmingham police harassed woman who sued over AI data center, law firm alleges
The officer allegedly told her she was prohibited from taking pictures and said he had recorded her during the traffic stop.
Ethan Parker 
A Birmingham law firm is taking a stand against the city's police department, alleging that officers engaged in retaliatory harassment against a local woman just days after she challenged a major AI data center development in court.
A Pattern of Intimidation?
Madelyn Greene, the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed on May 13 against the City of Birmingham and Nebius, Inc., claims she was targeted while driving home from church on May 17. The traffic stop occurred in Oxmoor Corporate Park, the very site of the contested 300-megawatt Nebius AI factory currently under construction.
Attorney K. Mark Parnell of Parnell Thompson, LLC issued a formal letter to City Attorney Nicole S. King on May 18, accusing officers of performing a non-random stop. According to the letter, the officers offered no explanation for the detention, issued no citations, and hastily departed the moment Greene stated her intention to record the interaction. Greene further alleges that one officer explicitly prohibited her from taking pictures and claimed she had been recorded herself.
Demanding Accountability
The legal team is not holding back, warning the city that further intimidation of plaintiffs or class members will lead to a request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Parnell’s letter demands the immediate preservation of all relevant evidence, including body-cam footage, dash-cam recordings, GPS data, and internal communications involving the police, the mayor's office, and third-party entities such as Hoar Construction, LLC.
Parnell has also requested that the city identify the two officers involved in the May 17 stop within seven days. Furthermore, the firm is seeking records concerning any directives to monitor or surveil opponents of the BHM01 project.
"Citizens of Birmingham have an absolute right to petition the courts and to oppose City development projects without becoming targets of police harassment," Parnell wrote, labeling the incident as an indefensible display of pretextual intimidation.
When contacted by 205focus.com, Birmingham Director of Communications Rick Journey noted that the city attorney’s office does not comment on pending litigation. Attempts to reach the Birmingham Police Department for comment have not yet yielded a response.
