Four people were arrested and an officer was bitten on the hand after a disturbance broke out at a Colorado Springs city council hearing on the proposed Project Taurus data center, held Sept. 17, 2026, at the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts.
The hearing centered on appeals to a planning commission decision that conditionally approved Project Taurus, a proposed $1 billion AI data center by developer Raeden near Garden of the Gods. Residents had raised concerns about noise, power consumption, and neighborhood impact since the project received conditional approval in August.
According to the Colorado Springs Police Department, the disturbance began when Wendy Jerado, 24, also reported in some outlets as Mejorado, used a megaphone to disrupt the meeting while community members were giving public feedback. Officers approached her to issue a warning to stop or leave.
A second person intervened to block officers from reaching Jerado. Caleb Miller, 26, then allegedly approached an officer from behind, grabbed the officer’s vest, and attempted to pull him to the ground, according to CSPD.
Two additional people joined the confrontation as officers worked to detain Miller. During the struggle, Miller allegedly bit an officer on the hand; officers deployed a Taser to subdue him. CSPD initially described the bite as occurring on the officer’s ear before clarifying in follow-up statements that the hand was the correct location.
Amid the chaos, one officer lost a pair of prescription eyeglasses and a body-worn camera became dislodged from another officer’s vest. Officers later identified Jacob Wilkinson, 23, as the person found in possession of the camera.
Caleb Miller faces a charge of second-degree assault of a peace officer. Christianna Miller, 26, faces obstruction of a peace officer. Wilkinson faces misdemeanor theft. Jerado was also charged with obstruction of a peace officer after officers reviewed video footage and developed probable cause. All charges are allegations, and the investigation remains active. Caleb Miller and Christianna Miller were booked into El Paso County Jail; Wilkinson and Jerado were each served with a summons and released.
The hearing ran approximately nine to eleven hours, drawing several hundred attendees. Repeated interruptions, profanity, and threats directed at city officials marked the session throughout, according to the Colorado Sun and Axios.
Despite the disruptions, the council voted 7-2 to delay a final decision on Project Taurus until April 13, 2027. The council cited the need for additional time to negotiate a large-load power contract with Colorado Springs Utilities. It also cited the need to develop broader regulatory guidelines for future data center proposals, per the Gazette.
Following the hearing, Raeden issued a statement saying it had received threats related to the proposal and was evaluating its partnership and next steps, according to the Gazette.
The April 2027 deadline falls after local elections that could shift the council’s composition, leaving the project’s ultimate fate unresolved.
