NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis’ mayor said Saturday that President Donald Trump’s TV announcement the day before was the first hard confirmation he received that the National Guard would be sent to the city an anti-crime mission.
He said Memphis is “deeply troubled” and “we’re going to fix that just like we did Washington,” where he deployed the National Guard and surged federal law enforcement.
Asked what he would recommend the National Guard focus on in Memphis, Young suggested tasks such as support for big events, including traffic assistance.
Louisiana plans A draft plan to activate 1,000 National Guard troops in the state calls for deployment to New Orleans and other urban centers to augment local law enforcement.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has acknowledged that the city’s future includes federal law authorities doing what is more basic local work.
Tennessee, Nashville. (AP) — Memphis’ mayor stated on Saturday that the first concrete confirmation he had received that the National Guard would be deployed to the city on an anti-crime mission was President Donald Trump’s television announcement the previous day.
Mayor Paul Young stated on CNN that he found out the proposal was being considered when Republican Gov. Earlier in the week, Bill Lee was notified by his office. Conversations persisted throughout the week, according to the Democratic mayor, who had been discussing the potential for increased law enforcement presence through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI.
Trump then announced his decision on Fox News on Friday morning. He declared, “We’re going to fix that just like we did Washington,” where he sent the National Guard and increased federal law enforcement, and that Memphis is “deeply troubled.”.
“No, that was the confirmation,” Young responded when asked on CNN if he had “hard confirmation” prior to Trump’s announcement. “.”.
Days earlier, Memphis police said that during the first eight months of 2025, there were decreases in all of the major crime categories when compared to the same period in prior years. According to police, murder hit a six-year low and overall crime hit a 25-year low.
However, Memphis has long struggled with recalcitrant issues related to gun violence. A record 390 homicides occurred in the city in 2023.
The city is also still dealing with the aftermath of Tyre Nichols’ death in January 2023, when Memphis police officers beat him. Following Nichols’ death, the Department of Justice, then led by President Joe Biden, conducted an investigation in December and discovered numerous civil rights violations in the police department. The findings included disproportionate targeting of Black individuals in the predominantly Black city, unlawful traffic stops, and the use of excessive force.
The department withdrew those findings in May, now under the Trump administration.
Details are still being worked out.
The governor stated that details regarding the guard’s role in efforts to combat crime are still being worked out. Trump’s spokesperson, Elizabeth Lane Johnson, stated that Lee and Trump spoke on Friday and will speak again early next week. Along with state and local law enforcement, the FBI has been conducting an operation that “has already arrested hundreds of the most violent offenders,” and the governor stated that the deployment would give the operation more push. “”.
Details about the precise role of the troops, their number and timing, and other matters are still unknown, the mayor stated on Saturday. Next week, he anticipates learning more.
When asked what duties he would like to see the National Guard concentrate on in Memphis, Young recommended traffic assistance and support for major events. Additionally, he stated that they could help with neighborhood “beautification” or assisting law enforcement with camera monitoring and contacting backup when they witness criminal activity. “.”.
The mayor is not “happy” about deployment.
Young has refuted Trump’s claim that the mayor is “happy” about the National Guard’s arrival. According to him, he did not request a deployment and does not believe it will lower crime. However, he admitted that the city has continued to rank highly on too many “bad lists,” and now that the deployment has been decided, he wants to “drive how they engage in our city.”. “”.
Young stated that he is aware of the anxieties that the people of Memphis have, and that the National Guard was sent there in 1968 in response to Martin Luther King Jr. was killed by murder.
Young stated, “We do not wish to evoke those same images here.”.
roles of the National Guard.
In 1956, the guard also assisted in enforcing school integration in Clinton.
Its soldiers have been sent to help during numerous major calamities, including hurricane Helene, wildfires, winter storms, and floods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they performed a variety of duties, including assisting with testing.
They have also been present in Tennessee and other places during tense times, like the demonstrations following George Floyd’s murder in Washington and on the grounds of the state Capitol. They went to the southern border, performed administrative duties for the state’s federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and returned to Washington as part of the president’s recent crime-centered mission, among other Trump-driven initiatives.
Louisiana prepares.
In order to support local law enforcement, a draft plan to activate 1,000 National Guard troops in the state calls for their deployment to New Orleans and other urban areas. The Washington Post was able to obtain the plan, which called for the deployment of troops if GOP Gov. Jeff Landry makes a federal aid request.
Rep. In response, Troy Carter, a Democrat representing the New Orleans region, stated that there is no emergency that would warrant deploying troops on the city’s streets and that crime rates are at their lowest levels in decades.
More resources “could make a real difference,” Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy told NOLA . com, adding that Camp Beauregard, a National Guard installation, is located close to his city.
Following Trump’s Friday statement to Fox News that troops could “fix up” Louisiana’s crime issues, the draft plan was made public.
An email requesting comment was sent to Landry’s office by the Associated Press. Last week, Liz Murrill, the state attorney general, declared her unwavering support for Trump’s troop deployment plan.
the Washington scene.
About 2,000 National Guard members from seven states and the District of Columbia are stationed in Washington. Despite Trump’s emergency order expiring because Congress did not renew it, guard units are still in place.
Union Station and a number of metro rail platforms are among the public areas frequented by tourists and visitors where armed troops are still heavily present.
The situation differs slightly from Memphis because the guard is directly under the president’s authority in Washington, which is a federal city.
It is unclear if Memphis could receive troops from outside the state; governors are in charge of their state’s guards.
Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, has admitted that federal law enforcement will be performing more fundamental local tasks in the city’s future. Bowser has established an operation center to promote improved communication and coordination between those agencies and the Metropolitan Police.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service, which has arrested hundreds of people, is the one organization she has left out of discussions about collaboration.
The day the mayor and school officials announced attendance changes due to fan violence at recent games, Homeland Security Investigations agents, the FBI, and the Metropolitan Police worked side by side to provide security at a high school football game on Friday.
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