By Leslie Krebs
Publication Date: 2026-08-21 03:57:00
HERMANTOWN, Minn. (Northern News Now) – A Hermantown resident who was removed from a Google Open House Wednesday night is speaking out for the first time about the incident.
Jonathan Thornton was one of four people asked to leave the event which was hosted by Google. Google is proposing a 1.6 million square foot data center in Hermantown.
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Thornton said he followed the guidelines by Google and attempted to submit a question during the open house, but said it could not be found. He said he was asked to leave after raising the issue with a Google representative.
“I said well I just want to know how I get my answers or are my questions in the queue and when I asked that question when I mentioned to her that I think they’re being screened as soon as I said that she said I need to leave,” Thornton said.
Thornton said his question asked for Google’s perspective on recent Hermantown behavior, referencing leaked audio in which…
