Diane Floyd said she was watching her husband’s music show earlier this month when she got a message over Facebook. It was from Brian Luftman, the founder of American Farm Investors, one of the companies trying to bring a hyperscale data center to Mercer County.
Luftman threatened to publish a picture of her 2023 mugshot to a Facebook group called “Lexington Foodies.”
“The insinuation, at least, of a vague threat that he’s going to post my arrest picture of the most, or one of the most traumatic nights of my life,” Floyd told the Lantern. “It was like he was trying to attack me in a way he knew it would hurt.”
Floyd has been one of a number of Mercer County residents involved in We Are Mercer County, a group of residents organizing around concerns about the potential impacts to the environment, land use and local resources that such a massive project could bring. Much of that debate has centered on the small Mercer County city of Burgin, where leadership at the city’s small school district have advocated for the project because of the enormous tax windfall it could bring.
Floyd’s arrest came from a domestic violence case in 2023 that was later dismissed.
“I don’t have money. I don’t have connections, I don’t have infinite resources. I’m just a mom in Mercer County, and I happen to not think that AI data centers are the best thing for Mercer County for a lot of reasons,” Floyd said.
Luftman’s message included the phrase, “Should I post this to Lexington foodies?” It was a reference to a private Facebook group that Floyd had made a post in on August 4. Floyd wrote in that Lexington Foodies group, sharing an article about Luftman’s Never Say Die Bourbon brand, that he was “trying to force an AI data center in historic Mercer County” and that “when and where we spend our money is one of our strongest tools.”
The Lexington Herald-Leader has reported that Luftman is establishing the Never Say Die Bourbon at a microdistillery and English-style pub in downtown Lexington.
On August 7, Floyd posted on Facebook a screenshot of Luftman’s message and her response to him, saying “[t]his is what speaking out can look like when powerful interests don’t appreciate public scrutiny.”
Floyd said she viewed Luftman bringing up her past arrest as a form of intimidation because of her advocacy against the proposed project, something she says that other Mercer County people advocating for the project have done.
In a Thursday phone interview with the Lantern, Luftman said he had subsequently apologized to Floyd and that his intent “was not to intimidate.”
“It was to shed light that it doesn’t feel great to be slandered, and I did it privately to her. And I shouldn’t have done that,” Luftman said. “It was an absolute incorrect way for me to handle it, and I regret it.”
When asked about the alleged slander against him, Luftman pointed to Facebook comments and posts that are “pretty rude” in groups including “No Kentucky Data Centers”. Members of that Facebook group have discussed and criticized Luftman’s involvement with the proposed Mercer County data center, in at least one instance sharing his contact information from emails he sent. Floyd said she hasn’t personally posted Luftman’s contact information on social media.
Another member of the group in an August 3 post also referenced Luftman’s involvement with Never Say Die Bourbon, encouraging people “to leave an honest review of Mr. Luftman and his various business ventures to ensure the public knows who they are supporting.”
Luftman said it wasn’t fair for activists to speak out against other businesses of his that have nothing to do with the proposed data center development.
“What changed was when they started calling for boycotts and on other businesses that are unrelated to mine, which in turn puts undue stress on other relationships and businesses that I have that have nothing to do with this development,” Luftman said. “It was taken too far.”
As for the proposed data center project, Luftman said it has “been a propagandized topic nationwide” and mentioned the Burgin school district’s support for the project.
Floyd said she takes her advocacy questioning the Mercer County data center project seriously, saying she’s talked with other people who live near data centers and with experts on “environmental impacts and health impacts.”
“I’ve been very conscious of sticking to the facts of the situation,” Floyd said.
“These are not inflated claims. These are things that I’ve learned.”
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