What to know about National Guard, federal forces in Memphis
When the National Guard troops arrive, they will act as “eyes and ears” for other federal and local law enforcement, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said.
Topic: National Guard deployment
RSSThere are 36 article(s) tagged National Guard deployment:
-
November 2025
-
-
October 2025
-
Another National Guard resolution delayed at County Commission
The nonbinding resolution is the third the Shelby County Commission has considered to suggest alternatives to the National Guard.
-
State, local leaders sue Gov. Lee about guard, although City of Memphis opts out
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Commissioners Erika Sugarmon and Henri Brooks are among those seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the guard’s deployment.
-
State troopers want to stop speeders. Drivers are crashing out.
Since the beginning of the Memphis Safe Task Force, routine traffic stops by state troopers have turned into high-speed pursuits, several which have ended in crashes.
-
1968, 1978 and 2020: National Guard looms large in city’s history
The 1968 deployment of troops to Memphis during the sanitation workers strike stands out in the city’s history. But there have been other guard deployments in the city since.
-
Echols: ‘Walking in Memphis’ isn’t what it once was
Candace Echols says she walks the line between “a willingness to satisfy my human craving for a good run” and “a consent to be on high alert.”
-
County commissioners split on whether to fight Harris’ veto
Shelby County Lee Harris’ veto of a resolution to move school board elections and the National Guard coming to town were hot topics on “Behind the Headlines.”
-
The feds are in Memphis. But how are they tracking arrests?
The Memphis Safe Task Force has allegedly made hundreds of arrests since its launch last week. But how law enforcement is tracking those arrests is unclear.
-
Opinion: Respect for the National Guard and respect for our community are not opposites
The presence of the National Guard — whatever our feelings about it — can serve as a call not only to law enforcement but to all of us to become healers, neighbors and builders of hope.
-
Conaway: Simple values for the most complicated of times, and the times’ call to each and every one of us
He told our country’s top brass that their attention would soon be turned inward. That they would be commanding military operations in our cities against the “enemy within.” Further, he said that they should hold military training exercises in our cities.
-
-
September 2025
-
Opinion: Memphians deserve a choice in how we are governed and policed
“The outsiders ... who think this “surge” is a wonderful idea for the city have little insight into how the deployment of a few hundred people in a city as sprawling and diverse as Memphis can effectively combat crime.”
-
The politics of the coming National Guard deployment
Here’s a look at the still-moving political developments in the federal intervention into Memphis’ crime problem.
-
March against guard deployment targets ‘occupation’ as well as Trump and Lee
A protest in Downtown Memphis was one of eight marches across the state decrying the coming National Guard deployment in Memphis.
-
City Council votes down National Guard resolution
The resolution opposing the guard deployment as part of a larger anti-crime initiative by the Trump administration was defeated on a tie vote.
-
Grandpa and the National Guard: A Memphis comedian goes viral
Zach Williams has hit comedy gold with his online clips about Grandpa, a National Guard veteran remembering his time in the Bluff City, and a bunch of Memphis-centric inside jokes.
-
Resolution opposing National Guard deployment fails to pass County Commission
After much debate, the commission failed to pass any resolution on the National Guard. Discussion moved on to a new jail, grants and the county reserves.
-
Will City Council vote oppose National Guard deployment?
The Memphis City Council votes on urging Gov. Bill Lee to stop the deployment of the National Guard to the city. The resolution also authorizes the council’s attorney to take legal action to stop the troops if necessary.
-
A divided County Commission to decide its response to National Guard
Shelby County commissioners will weigh in on the coming of National Guard troops to Memphis. Commissioners also return to the question of a new jail and moving Memphis school board elections.
-
National Guard becomes issue in Tennessee governor’s race
The coming deployment of the Guard to the city is also finding its way into other parts of local politics including a surprise appearance by a Democratic County Commissioner at a Republican rally backing the Guard’s arrival.
-
National Guard to be ‘eyes and ears’ on the streets, mayor says
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said the National Guard will not be doing any detainment.
-
Conaway: The lowest crime rate in 25 years is getting both a parade and a charade
“Yet the rest of the nation will see the parade charade daily on their screens large and small. They will see the National Guard in Memphis, an occupied American city.”
-
Cohen questions FBI leader about National Guard in Memphis
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., asked FBI Director Kash Patel about the Memphis Safe Task Force, which President Donald Trump established Monday.
See The Daily Memphian’s full coverage of the Memphis Safe Task Force
-
Council members to push Gov. Lee to reject Guard deployment
The City Council could vote on the resolution, so far backed by a group of council members, at its meeting next week. It is not binding on Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
-
Sanford/Hunt: Memphis’ National Guard presence demands collaboration over partisanship
“When President Donald Trump announced Monday, Sept. 15, federal troops will now be deployed to the streets of Memphis, the cheerleading by Tennessee’s top three elected officials ... seemed much more concerned with revealing no trace of daylight between themselves and Trump.”
-
‘I don’t want to see a tank in my neighborhood’— County Commission debates Guard deployment
County Commissioners got their first look at two resolutions offering different responses to the coming deployment of National Guard troops to the city.
-
About 36 results