A new documentary reveals an unlikely alliance between progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Trump supporters in rural Georgia, who are united in their fight against a Meta data center they claim is polluting their water supply.
The short film, produced by More Perfect Union, follows Ocasio-Cortez as she travels to Morgan County, Georgia, roughly sixty miles east of Atlanta. There, she meets residents living near a 2.5 million-square-foot data center being built by tech giant Meta. In the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump won over 70 percent of the vote in Morgan County.
Beverly Morris, a local resident, expresses her hope in Ocasio-Cortez: "If there's a chance that anything can be done, I feel like she is going to be the one to do it." The Morris family lives just 400 feet from the construction site, and since work began in 2018, they claim their tap water has turned brown and full of sediment.
In the documentary, Morris shows Ocasio-Cortez a bottle of water from their tap. "It's gotten worse," Morris says. The congresswoman replies, "That's night and day. We've seen this playbook before from big companies... The only thing that's changed was that spot opening up across the street."
Congressional Hearing Highlights Water Crisis
On Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez questioned Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator for Water Jessica Kramer during a hearing on the administration's failure to ensure clean drinking water nationwide. She brought two jars of water from Morgan County to illustrate the issue.
"These families now have to ship, in a rural area, have to ship water to their house in order to cook and bathe themselves," she noted.
Call for National Inquiry
Later in the film, Ocasio-Cortez argues that the intrusive nature of the data center warrants a national congressional inquiry, highlighting how such facilities can affect water supplies across entire states.
"One of the reasons why I certainly wanted to come out here is because when you're stuck in Washington, and these issues come up, you get a bunch of lobbyists that come down, and they tell you that it's all fake," she said. "They tell you that the water issues are actually not that serious, and they say... this stuff is kind of like an urban legend."
Jeff Morris, Beverly's husband, admitted he was surprised by Ocasio-Cortez. "It was a good surprise... I feel like she cares about our situation," he said.
Ocasio-Cortez has previously served as a bridge between the far left and right, earning nearly 70 percent of the vote in her district, NY-14, which includes parts of Queens and the Bronx. Notably, that district also saw a significant rise in Trump voters, reaching 33 percent.
The Independent has contacted Meta for comment on the allegations.
