Protesters break into Microsoft data center site in Amsterdam as Europe’s backlash spreads

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Protesters broke into a construction site for a new Microsoft data center in Amsterdam on Friday, with some climbing a crane and setting off flares while others clashed with police.

Nathan Timmer of the protest group Geef Tegengas, a phrase that translates as Push Back, told local broadcaster AT5 that protesters were occupying the site in an effort to stop construction.

Campaigners against data centers in Europe are expected to stage protests and other actions in several countries on Friday and Saturday, demanding a moratorium on large-scale developments to address social and environmental concerns around the energy-hungry behemoths.

“We don’t want it to be built. Nobody needs it,” Timmer said. “The only thing this will be used for is AI slop. AI warfare, data surveillance, and committing genocides. We don’t want that,” he added, vowing to continue protesting until construction is halted.

Pro-Palestinian activists also joined the demonstrations in the Dutch capital. By late afternoon police were escorting activists off the construction site, though some still remained, local media reported.

Microsoft said it was aware of the Amsterdam demonstration. “We understand that people feel strongly about the project, and we respect their right to express those views peacefully," a spokesperson said. “However, we do not condone any actions that are unlawful or that put people’s safety at risk.”

The demonstrations come days after the U.S. midterm elections ushered in a wave of Democrats promising to clamp down on data centers, which face resistance around the world due to the massive amounts of computing power and water they use.

Dozens of civil society and grassroots groups have said they will join the “Stop Dirty Data Centres” events on Friday and Saturday in 15 European countries, including Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France and the U.K., organizers said.

“There’s a gulf between where elected leaders are at in terms of buying into the hype about AI and where people are at,” said Owen Espley, coordinator of StopDirtyDataCentres.eu.

In Germany, a dozen protesters gathered in front of a data center on the outskirts of Berlin on Friday.

“We want to put a stop to this blind construction of data centers around Germany, regardless of any environmental concerns,” said the protest spokeswoman Caro Weber. “This is really, really dangerous for our future.”

Around 100 people also protested against data centers in front of the Polish parliament on Friday, representing communities around Warsaw where new centers are planned.

In Italy, the fast-growing data center industry faces an equally rapid rise in grassroots opposition, particularly in the northern Lombardy region, the country’s main hub for digital infrastructure.

Activists argue that the boom in facilities serving cloud computing and artificial intelligence is moving faster than public consultation and environmental oversight.

The movement reached a milestone on Oct. 10, when more than 1,000 people and representatives of around 40 local committees gathered in Milan’s Piazza della Scala for what organizers described as Italy’s first national demonstration against data centers.

Protesters called for a moratorium on new projects and demanded a national strategy governing the industry’s growth. The demonstration followed a series of increasingly large mobilizations in towns around Milan.

Europe is projected to attract $5.6 trillion in cumulative data center capital expenditure from 2026 through 2050, accounting for around 18% of global investment, according to PwC’s Global Data Centre Outlook 2026–50.

The U.S. is forecast to attract $15.1 trillion in capital spending on data centers during that period, the report said.

Naishadham reported from Madrid. Associated Press journalists Giada Zampano in Rome, Pietro De Cristofaro in Berlin and Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw contributed to this report.

A banner reads “Two data centers, 35 metres from our homes! Prime Minister Tusk, help!!!” during a protest against data centers in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Claudia Ciobanu)

Protesters hold signs reading "What is the true COST of this investment?”, “Let’s not let the world drown in AI slop!” and “Water consumption: 1 data centre = 3,000 people. And they tell US to save water?!” during a protest against data centers in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Claudia Ciobanu)

In this image made from video, protesters climb a crane at a site where a new Microsoft data center is being built, in Amsterdam, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

In this image made from video, protesters cut a temporary construction fence at the site where a new Microsoft data center is being built, in Amsterdam, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

In this image made from video, protesters wearing scarves over their faces climb over a temporary construction fence at the site where a new Microsoft data center is being built, in Amsterdam, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

In this image made from video, protesters wearing scarves over their faces climb through a temporary construction fence at the site where a new Microsoft data center is being built, in Amsterdam, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

In this image made from video, protesters wearing scarves over their faces climb over a temporary construction fence at the site where a new Microsoft data center is being built, in Amsterdam, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

MIAMI (AP) — Former NFL star Antonio Brown pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated assault with a firearm in connection with a 2025 shooting outside a celebrity boxing match in Miami.

Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez sentenced Brown to three years of probation, during which time he will have to attend weekly counseling sessions and not possess a firearm, among other conditions.

Wearing a black leather jacket and white pants, he spoke sparingly and in a low voice during the brief proceedings in Miami state court. As he entered his guilty plea, the judge asked him to speak up.

Outside the courtroom, Brown thanked God and said he wanted to “get back to life” and his family.

He declined to answer other questions, but his lawyer, Mark Eiglarsh, said they were “extremely grateful” the case was behind them.

“My client was facing 30 years in prison with a 20-year minimum mandatory, and he was given an offer he just couldn’t refuse,” he said. “Probation was too good to turn down, and we’re both very excited about the outcome.”

The plea to the reduced charge allows the All-Pro wide receiver to not only avoid prison time but criminal conviction.

Brown had initially been charged with attempted murder after police say he grabbed a handgun from a security staffer at the event and fired two shots at a man he had been in a fistfight with earlier.

Brown, 38, maintained he was defending himself from an attack as others were trying to steal jewelry from him.

Florida’s Stand Your Ground law allows people who believe they face death or serious injury to use deadly force to defend themselves without a duty to retreat.

Prosecutor Howard Rosen said in court Friday that his office was seeking to reduce the charge against Brown because there was “a question” of whether he was actually attempting to shoot the victim, who had been walking away from the altercation at the time.

He noted the victim, who was grazed in the neck, was in court for the hearing and has said publicly that he wouldn't cooperate with police and didn't want to press charges.

“Rather than the entire case going away and there being no opportunity for Mr. Brown to receive what's ultimately going to be some therapeutic treatment, we all came together — the defense and the state — and decided that this was in the best interest of everybody,” Rosen said.

The victim, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, has said previously that he’s since forgiven Brown. His lawyer, Richard Cooper, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

Brown spent 12 years in the NFL, most of it with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021 under quarterback Tom Brady.

The following season, though, Brown effectively ended his career when he inexplicably took off his jersey, shoulder pads and gloves and ran off the field during a game. The Buccaneers released him after the incident.

Brown has dealt with other legal problems in recent years.

He previously was accused of battery on a moving truck driver, faced several domestic violence charges, failure to pay child support and other incidents.

Brown was extradited in November 2025 from Dubai, where he has business interests, after an arrest warrant on the attempted murder charge was issued in June of the same year.

Marcelo reported from New York.

Antonio Brown is seen outside the state court in Miami, Fl., Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)

FILE- Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown appears in court at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Miami on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP, Pool, File)