Operator of North Texas bitcoin mine found not guilty on 12 counts of noise citations

The plant manager for a bitcoin mine and data center in unincorporated Hood County has been found not guilty on 12 counts of noise violations.

The operator of a bitcoin mine and data center in Hood County, Texas, has been found not guilty on 12 counts of noise violations.

Defendant David Fischer, plant manager for Marathon Digital, was found not guilty by a jury on Tuesday.

The Hood County attorney who represented the residents and presented the noise citations said he was "disappointed for the victims in the case."

“The feedback I received from jurors is they believed it was an unreasonable noise. However, they had trouble connecting it with the individual defendant, David Fischer,” said Hood County Attorney Matt Mills.

“Testimony was that he was the plant manager. But the jury’s questions revolved around how much control did he have over operations, and how much he could alleviate the noise problems.”

The case began with noise citations written by Hood County Constable John Shirley, who recorded several readings above 85 decibels over the past few months. This is the state threshold for which noise is considered unreasonable.

The case centered around citations addressed specifically to Fisher, not Marathon Digital.

Residents have complained about increased health issues due to the mine’s nonstop noise and expressed concerns about the operation's impact on the state power grid and the environment.

Fort Worth-based law firm Gill & Brissette represented Marathon Digital and David Fischer in the case. The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the verdict but notified a Star-Telegram reporter of the verdict Tuesday afternoon.

Representatives for Marathon Digital were not immediately available for comment. The company said in a previous interview that it was working to make the operation quieter and that it was the least remote bitcoin operation it has in Texas.

Staff Writer James Hartley contributed to this report