WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump signed an order Monday sending the National Guard into Memphis to combat crime, offering another major test of the limits of presidential power by using military force in American cities.
With Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee visiting the Oval Office, Trump said troops would be deployed and join a special task force in the city comprised of officials from various federal agencies, including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Marshal’s service.
He said the goal would be to stamp out crime in a way that he says sending in the National Guard and federalizing the local police force has in Washington, D.C.
“This task force will be a replica of our extraordinarily successful efforts here,” Trump said of the District of Columbia. “And, you’ll see it’s a lot of the same thing.”
The presidential memorandum Trump signed did not include details on when troops would be deployed or exactly what his promised surge in law enforcement efforts would look like.
“Planning is currently underway, and we will continue to work closely with federal and local partners to determine the most effective path forward,” said Lee’s spokesperson, Elizabeth Lane Johnson.
The memorandum also specified that some out-of-state help might be available, including state police in Memphis-bordering Mississippi and Arkansas, and National Guard members from other states as necessary.
Trump said the FBI had already stepped up its recent activities in Memphis, which is majority Black and Tennessee’s second-largest city, and had helped reduce crime, but, “We’re sending in the big force now.”
Shortly before Trump’s announcement, the White House posted on social media that the Memphis total crime rate was higher than the national average and suggested that the rate had increased since last year, bucking national trends.
That’s despite Memphis police recently reporting decreases across every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in previous years. Overall crime hit a 25-year low, while murder hit a six-year low, police said.
Still, Memphis has dealt with stubborn gun violence problems for years. In 2023, the city set a record with more than 390 homicides.
Tennessee’s governor embraced the troop deployment as part of a broader law enforcement surge in Memphis, with Lee saying Monday that he was “tired of crime holding the great city of Memphis back.” The state’s Republican senators, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, joined in the Oval Office as well.
Trump’s action followed his first announcing that he’d soon be deploying the National Guard to Memphis on Friday – drawing immediate pushback from its Democratic leader.
“I did not ask for the National Guard, and I don’t think it’s the way to drive down crime,” Memphis Mayor Paul Young told a news conference Friday while acknowledging the city remained high on too many “bad lists.”
Young has also said that now the decision is made, he wants to ensure he can help influence the Guard’s role. He mentioned possibilities such as traffic control for big events, monitoring cameras for police and undertaking beautification projects.
At a news conference Monday, some local Democrats urged officials to consider options to oppose the deployment. Tami Sawyer, Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk, said the city or county could sue.
Speculation had centered on Chicago as Trump’s next city to send in the National Guard and other federal authorities. But the administration has faced fierce resistance from Democratic Illinois J.B. Pritzker and other local authorities.
Trump nonetheless insisted Monday, “We’re going to be doing Chicago probably next” while also suggesting that authorities would wait and not act immediately there.
Speaking about a skyscraper bearing his name in the nation’s third largest city, Trump said he “knew all about” Chicago and had “a great beautiful building. I’m so proud of it.”
“But you get less proud when you see all the crime,” he added.
Pressed on if he might send troops into Chicago without support from state and local authorities, the president insisted, “It’s not going to matter to us at all.”
“We hope we have the governor’s help,” he said. “But, if we don’t we’re doing it without him.”
Trump has also previously said he’d be willing to send troop to New Orleans – another Democrat-leaning city in a Republican-run state. He mentioned New Orleans again on Monday, but also singled out Baltimore and even St. Louis as locales that could be in line for troop deployments eventually – though he provided no details.
“We want to save these places,” Trump said.
Trump deploys National Guard to Memphis, calling it a ‘replica’ of his crackdown on Washington
https://arab.news/5uqv2
Trump deploys National Guard to Memphis, calling it a ‘replica’ of his crackdown on Washington
- Troops would be deployed and join a special task force in the city comprised of officials from various federal agencies
- Memphis police recently reported decreases across every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025
Four cops killed as separatist militants launch ‘coordinated’ attacks in Pakistan’s southwest — police
- The attacks began in Balochistan’s capital of Quetta at around 6am with a powerful explosion, followed by intense gunfire
QUETTA: Separatist militants, affiliated with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), have launched “coordinated” attacks in several cities of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province and killed at least four policemen, officials said early Saturday.
The attacks in the provincial capital of Quetta began at around 6am with a powerful explosion, followed by intense gunfire that lasted for two hours along with multiple explosions.
Residents of Dalbandin and Nuhski said they heard explosions and gunfire in the districts early Saturday morning, while there were reports of similar attacks in Mastung, Gwadar, Pasni and Turbat.
A senior police official, who requested anonymity, told Arab News that the militants attempted to enter the provincial capital of Quetta but police and other law enforcement agencies stopped them.
“The terrorists attacked a police mobile at Sariab road which resulted in the killing of two policemen,” he said. “Police and other law enforcement agencies denied space to the terrorists in Quetta city and a clearance operation is still going on.”
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is the site of a decades-long insurgency waged by Baloch separatist groups who often attack security forces and foreigners, and kidnap government officials.
Shahid Rind, the Balochistan chief minister’s aide for media and political affairs, said police and paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) had foiled the attacks and were chasing the assailants.
“After the killing of more than 70 terrorists at different places in Balochistan in the last two days, terrorists have attempted to attack at a few places in Balochistan, which have been foiled by timely action by the police and FC,” he said on X.
“At present, the pursuit of the fleeing terrorists is underway. More details will be revealed very soon.”
In a statement issued on Saturday, BLA said the group had launched ‘Operation Herof 2.0,’ which included a series of attacks in multiple cities of Balochistan.
Saturday’s attacks follow coordinated attacks carried out by the group in Aug. 2024 in various districts of Balochistan which killed dozens of people.
The separatists accuse the central government of stealing the region’s resources to fund development elsewhere in the country. The Pakistani government denies the allegations and says it is working for the uplift of local communities in Balochistan.
Pakistan Railways has suspended train service from Balochistan to other parts of the country for a day, following Saturday’s attacks.
“Quetta-Peshawar bound Jaffar Express, and Quetta-Chaman passenger trains have been canceled due to the prevailing security situation in Balochistan,” Muhammad Kashif, the railways controller in Quetta division, told Arab News.
At least four police officials in as many districts confirmed to AFP the situation was not completely under control yet.
“At least four policemen were killed in Quetta alone,” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
A senior military official based in Islamabad confirmed the attacks, adding they were “coordinated but poorly executed.”
