Operation “Memphis Safe Task Force” will bring federal and local law enforcement together; some local leaders oppose the move.
MEMPHIS, Tenn — President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Monday, Sept. 12, officially authorizing the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis as part of a new initiative called the Memphis Safe Task Force.
Gov. Bill Lee and FBI Director Kash Patel joined President Trump at the announcement, thanking him for what they described as a collaborative process between federal agencies and local law enforcement.
“We are going to have DOJ led by the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. That person is going to be very busy,” President Trump said.
Local officials said there is no firm timeline for when the National Guard will arrive. During the event, President Trump told Gov. Lee that the deployment could begin in four to five weeks, possibly sooner.
Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, said the occupation could last anywhere from two weeks to two years.
“We do not make this country safe again unless we go into our cities where there’s the most violent among us and go street by street and block by block and arrest the men and women in this country that are destroying cities and communities for the rest of us,” Blanche said. “We plan on delivering Memphis back to the citizens that are there to raise their families, to go to church, to be in their communities. That’s our goal and that’s what we plan on doing — whether it takes two weeks or two years.”
Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris have spoken against the deployment and have said that they were not consulted in the decision.