Terri Michal isn't a newcomer to Birmingham politics, but her experience and relationships didn't help her on Tuesday when Birmingham Police forcibly removed her from a city council meeting.
"I wasn't warned, the President of the Council didn't tell anyone to throw me out...yet there I am..... forcibly being removed," Michal wrote in a social media report after the meeting.
Michal previously served on the Birmingham Board of Education from 2017 to 2021. She ran again, losing in a run-off in 2025.
This year, she's been a staple at public meetings opposing the Nebius data center and the lack of transparency around it.
"They called my name. I walked up. The president misrepresented comments she made to me at a previous meeting and used that as an excuse to shut me down so I couldn't address them. What in the world are they afraid of??" she asked in her social media post, referencing city councilwoman Wardine T. Alexander.
"Never, in a million years, would we have treated a citizen that way when I was an elected official. What we would have done, and what they could have done, is to vote to allow me to speak after hearing my valid complaint. They were all there when she and another councilor told me about the policy that you couldn't speak for two consecutive weeks about the same item. Yet today they ALL chose to stay quiet and allow THEIR policy to be broken by throwing me out without the presiding officer requesting it," she continued.
City Code Section 2-2-11 states, "No person shall be allowed to address the city council at two consecutive meetings unless granted by the city council."
Michal responded to the exchange by taping several video messages and posting them on social media.
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State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) hosted a Facebook Live with Michal, condemning what happened and allowing her to make her case about the data center and to raise questions about how the city has handled the process.
Michal said she won't be silenced. She's currently promoting an event on June 27.
"Join us in demonstrating the power of the people!! All of Birmingham needs these common-sense protections added to the data center ordinance that was passed on June 9th. Without these amendments, we won't know if our air, water and/or soil has been contaminated until it's too late. Are you sick of companies polluting our water and getting off with a slap on the wrist? Do you want to prevent another industrial site from contaminating our soil? The next data center could be near YOU!! These amendments will protect all of Birmingham. Stand up and be counted, your voice absolutely can make a difference!" she wrote on social media.
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