Trump signs memorandum deploying National Guard to Memphis to fight crime

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Monday signed a memorandum ordering the National Guard to Memphis, a Democratic-led city in the state of Tennessee, to address what he called "rampant crime."

"The city of Memphis, Tennessee, is suffering from tremendous levels of violent crime that have overwhelmed its local government's ability to respond effectively," according to the memorandum signed in the White House Oval Office.

Memphis is the third US city in recent months to see National Guard troops deployed in its streets after Los Angeles and Washington, DC.

The Memorandum established a Memphis Safe Task Force tasked with "ending street and violent crime in Memphis to the greatest possible extent," including by coordinating closely with state and local officials in Tennessee, Memphis and neighboring jurisdictions to share information, develop joint priorities and maximize resources to make Memphis safe and restore public order.

The Secretary of War, formerly the Secretary of Defense, shall request that the Tennessee governor make National Guard units available to support public safety and law enforcement operations in Memphis, "in such numbers and for such duration as the Governor may deem necessary and appropriate to assist with the activities of the Task Force," the memorandum said.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Memphis had the "highest violent crime rate" in the country in 2024, the White House noted in a fact sheet. "Memphis has some of the highest rates of murder, robbery, aggravated assault, and property crimes in the nation."

Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, DC to rebuild it from a "nightmare of murder and crime" into the "safest and most beautiful capital in the world," according to the White House. "Crime in DC has fallen dramatically."

At the signing event, Trump hailed the measure's success in the nation's capital and pledged similar results in Memphis.

"What's going to happen with Memphis in three, four weeks, we'll stand together, and we'll say, look at this. The crime has almost disappeared, maybe completely disappeared in Washington," Trump told reporters.

Memphis, a Democratic-led city in the Republican state of Tennessee, has a majority-Black population. The city's mayor, Paul Young, said at a press conference Friday, "I did not ask for the National Guard and I don't think it's the way to drive down crime."

Lee Harris, the Democratic mayor of Shelby County, which includes the city of Memphis, lashed out at the move on Friday, shortly after Trump said on Fox News that both the mayor and the governor are "happy" about the upcoming deployment.

"Mr. President, no one here is 'happy.' We're not happy you're militarizing Tennessee communities," Harris said in a post on social media X. "Not happy at all with occupation, armored vehicles, semi-automatic weapons, and military personnel in fatigues."

Trump also signaled on Monday that the National Guard could be sent to more cities after Memphis. "We think Chicago is going to be next, and we'll get to St Louis and New Orleans."