MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Defense Department is prepared to deploy up to 1,000 Tennessee National Guard troops to Memphis through September of next year, according to an unclassified memo.
In the September memo obtained by NewsNation affiliate WREG, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth proposed sending the troops to Memphis and allowing them to engage in law enforcement operations under the authority of agencies that request the Guard.
According to the memo, the deployment of the Guard could cost up to $226 million a year, depending on the number of troops and duration.
Hegseth stated that Tennessee, particularly Memphis, faces a convergence of public safety threats that exceeds the capacity of local law enforcement agencies.
Monday night, a Tennessee judge blocked the use of the National Guard in Memphis under a crime-fighting operation by President Donald Trump, but also put the order on hold, giving the government five days to appeal.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s office announced Tuesday that it plans to appeal the ruling on blocking the use of the National Guard in Memphis.
On Tuesday, Elizabeth Johnson, Director of Communications with the governor’s office, released the following statement:
“Memphians know their city is facing a violent crime emergency that the state must address, and we’re confident higher courts will ultimately recognize this as well. The State will appeal, and the Tennessee National Guard will continue to operate as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force while the case is on appeal, per the judge’s order.
To date, the Memphis Safe Task Force has made 2800 arrests, confiscated more than 450 illegal firearms, and located 114 missing children, and there’s no question these public safety efforts must continue.”
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said that the governor knew or should have known that the National Guard deployment on Oct. 10 was illegal, because there was no rebellion or invasion taking place.
In Harris’s opinion, the state of Tennessee owes Shelby County “tens of millions of dollars” because the county is paying to house people arrested by the task force.
“There’s no clear reason why the National Guard was sent to town,” Harris said, “except to comply with the orders of Donald Trump.”
Last Thursday, A spokesperson with the Memphis Police Department said the total National Guard presence in Memphis is currently between 140 and 180. That number will increase to about 350.
“Over the next few days, we anticipate the total presence will increase to roughly 350. These men and women are working in the community, serving as additional eyes and ears to support law enforcement,” said Faith King, public affairs manager with MPD.
Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis said on Tuesday that Memphians are feeling safer, and she noted that the drop in crime began even before the new Memphis Safe Task Force arrived.
She said those trends include fewer repeat offenders, fewer violent offenders, fewer outstanding warrants, and a noticeable decrease in gang-related activity across the city.
“We believe, despite what we see in the media, people are feeling the difference — feeling the difference in our traffic in the city and in a number of different communities where we are not responding to shots fired every five minutes. Calls for service have gone down. Calls for service have gone down significantly, and that means community members are not dialing 911 because there isn’t an incident.”
Using year-to-date charts, MPD leaders told council members that Memphis began 2025 with historic lows in major crime categories, and those reductions have continued month after month.
“A lot of people are saying, ‘I can’t go downtown, crime is so bad,’ and I’m looking everywhere and I’m not seeing anything. I’m wondering how do we do a better job publicizing what a good job we’ve done bringing crime down before the task force,” stated Dr. Jeff Warren with the Memphis City Council.