On October 15, Henry Elgie ’29 interrupted a live Senate debate in Bangor, Maine, between Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic nominee Troy Jackson over concerns regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers and corporate Political Action Committee (PAC) money.

In a video posted on social media by the Sunrise Movement, a progressive, youth-led political and environmental advocacy organization, Elgie shouts, “Senator Collins, I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I’m a young person and I’m terrified… AI data centers are destroying our climate, polluting our waters. You are taking corporate PAC money to an absurd degree….” before being escorted out by security personnel.

The viral video has since been reposted on social media and cited in articles by prominent nationwide news outlets, including the New York Times and Fox News.

The interruption was part of Elgie’s internship with the Sunrise Movement, whose advocacy promotes electoral accountability and climate justice through nonviolent direct action. In an interview with the Orient, Elgie explained that the internship is designed for students in swing states with highly contested upcoming elections.

“It was important to target an issue that is bipartisan, not only for my safety, but also for the compatibility of the message with undecided voters,” Elgie said. “[Data centers] are an injustice environmentally… and also politically, and [Collins] has to be accountable for that.”

On their social media, the Sunrise Movement commended Elgie for his interruption, stating that Collins’ lack of action addressing data center concerns was a direct cause of this confrontation.

“We’re proud of this Sunrise volunteer who took action today,” the organization wrote. “[Collins] refuses to protect young people from data centers and the climate chaos that they create. If she won’t protect our future, we don’t think she deserves to debate in peace.”

Elgie also pointed to a lack of communication from Collins with constituents like himself. He cited past failed attempts to reach out to Collins regarding his concerns.

“Collins hasn’t had a town hall in 25 years, and I think this [is] a damning reflection on her governing … and on her care for her constituents. I tried reaching out to Susan Collins many times previously over the phone, contacting her office, showing up to other debates to try and speak with her,” Elgie said.

To gain admission to the debate at Husson University, which was not open to the public, Elgie presented a fabricated press pass with the deliberately misspelled name “Bowdowin Orient.” Elgie is not a member of The Bowdoin Orient.

“It was a specially handcrafted live audience by both parties,” Elgie said. “Troy Jackson had offered for the event to be town hall style… and this was the compromise that they made.”

The candidates’ reactions to Elgie’s interruption also went viral. Collins stated that Elgie “is obviously one of [Jackson’s] supporters,” to which Jackson replied, “Oh, shut up…. I don’t even know that kid.”

As the politicians’ responses drew more press, Elgie pushed back on how his disruption was characterized while still acknowledging that his message has played a secondary role to the semantics of Collins’ and Jackson’s exchange.

“I think mainstream media is sort of doing what mainstream media does best…. They are trying to foment controversy. The headline probably should be ‘concerned constituent disrupts debate [regarding] concerns around AI data centers and money in politics,’” Elgie said.

He also considered Jackson’s remark in the context of political divisions, recognizing the “wedge that the Republican Party is trying to draw with previously undecided voters, who are now… going to vote as Republican feminists that really don’t like people saying ‘shut up.’”

Reflecting on the implications of the debate interruption, Elgie holds firm in his convictions.

“I still stand by what I did… but I think that there was a part of me that wasn’t fully understanding of all the different weird and wacky offshoots that could occur as a result of my action,” Elgie said.

The College acknowledged the incident and provided general impressions on seeing Bowdoin students participate in politics in an email to the Orient.

“Generally, it is good to see Bowdoin students engaged in the democratic process and in current politics. We are aware of reports concerning the incident at the [United States] Senate debate,” Director of Communications Doug Cook wrote.

As to how the broader Bowdoin community responded to his interruption, Elgie said that he has largely been met with support. He thinks many people are fatigued by Collins’ long tenure as senator and are eager for political change.

“I think by and large people [responded] very warmly…. Though if someone has something negative to say about it, then I would implore them to speak to me directly,” Elgie said. “I think that, generally speaking, the Bowdoin [community] is tired of 30 years of Susan Collins’ leadership—God forbid 36.”

Elgie urged Bowdoin community members to vote in the upcoming election on November 3.