El Centro resident arrested for allegedly making online threats against data center developer

A 22-year-old El Centro resident is facing a felony charge after allegedly posting threats of violence on social media against a local data center developer.

In a statement Friday, county officials accused the man, who they identified as Diego Joe, of making explicit threats against the developer in a Facebook group. The statement did not name the developer and did not specify what those threats were.

Imperial County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Joe “without incident” on Friday near the El Centro Library, the county statement said. He is being held in the Imperial County Jail on $20,000 bail, according to the county’s statement.

Imperial County District Attorney George Marquez said his office had reviewed the case and was in the process of filing criminal charges Monday morning. Marquez said his office expected to charge Joe with making criminal threats, a felony, and misdemeanor online harassment.

The arrest comes amid heated resistance to a massive AI data center complex moving forward in the heart of the Imperial Valley.

Read more: KPBS