Judge Sides With Memphis Dems, Rejects National Guard Deployment Amid Crime Surge

A Tennessee judge blocked the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis, siding with Democrats who claimed that the action was not making the crime-ridden city safer. 

Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal granted a temporary injunction on Monday against Republican Governor Bill Lee’s deployment of National Guard troops to aid federal law enforcement operations in Memphis. Moskal said that Lee lacked the authority to send in the troops and that they were not assisting in the crackdown on violent crime. 

“The Court finds that the first factor — whether the Tennessee Constitution has committed the issue of when to use the National Guard to the Governor—is not met,” Moskal wrote in her decision. “The power committed to the Governor as commander-in-chief of the Army and Militia is not unfettered.”

A coalition of Memphis-area Democrats, including Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, filed a lawsuit against Lee and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on October 17 after the Trump administration announced a “Memphis Safe Taskforce” involving a surge of federal personnel to the city.

As part of this federal-state partnership, Lee deployed nearly 200 National Guard members to Memphis with the stated goal of supporting federal operations and deterring crime. More than 30 federal entities are currently involved in the operation, which has led to over 2,790 arrests, 453 illegal firearms seized, and more than 300 gang members arrested. 

Over the last few years, Memphis has consistently ranked as one of the nation’s most dangerous cities, with one analysis showing that it had the highest rate of violent crime in 2024. 

In court, Memphis officials argued that “the deployment is causing immediate and irreparable harm to the County by the increased number of arrests, over burdening the criminal justice system, and overcrowding jail facilities,” Moskal wrote in her decision. 

“The residents of Memphis also have a strong public interest in not being subjected to domestic military occupation for law enforcement purposes under circumstances where it is not statutorily authorized,” Moskal wrote. 

Tennessee will have five days to appeal the decision before the ruling takes effect. 

A poll released earlier this month by the Beacon Center found that the majority of Tennesseans approve of sending the National Guard to Memphis. The poll of registered voters found that 63% approved of the deployment while 33% disapproved.