Trump deploys National Guard to Memphis, calling it a ‘replica’ of his crackdown on Washington

By WILL WEISSERT WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump on Monday signed an order sending the National Guard into Memphis to combat crime constituting his latest test of the limits of presidential power by using military force in American cities Related Articles Judge rules Trump administration illegally fired thousands of probationary workers Trump says the US military again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela Kennedy s vaccine committee plans to vote on COVID- hepatitis B and chickenpox shots Trump threatens to take over DC police again over immigration enforcement A framework deal on TikTok has been reached between the US and China Trump made the announcement with Republican Tennessee Gov Bill Lee visiting the Oval Office calling what s coming a replica of our extraordinarily accomplished efforts in Washington That was a reference to last month when the president deployed National Guard troops to the nation s capital and federalized the city s police force in a crackdown he has since argued reduced crime Trump noted that in addition to troops the push in Memphis would involve functionaries from various federal agencies including the FBI Drug Enforcement Administration Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U S Marshall s function We re sending in the big force now Shortly before Trump s announcement the White House explained 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 not long ago reporting decreases across every major crime category in the first eight months of compared to the same period in previous years Overall crime hit a -year low while murder hit a six-year low police announced Despite the overall decrease Memphis has dealt with stubborn gun violence problems for years In the city set a record with more than homicides Tennessee s governor embraced the troop deployment as part of a broader law enforcement surge in Memphis Lee stated Monday that he was tired of crime holding the great city of Memphis back Trump first suggested he d be deploying the National Guard to Memphis on Friday draying pushback from the Democratic leader of Memphis which is majority Black I did not ask for the National Guard and I don t think it s the way to drive down crime Mayor Paul Young informed a news conference Friday while acknowledging the city remained high on too a multitude of bad lists Speculation had centered on Chicago as Trump s next city to send in the National Guard and other federal bureaucrats But the administration has faced fierce resistance from Democratic Illinois J B Pritzker and other local functionaries Trump declared Monday We re going to be doing Chicago allegedly next but also suggested that leadership would wait and not act this instant there We want to save these places Trump commented He singled out St Louis and Baltimore but didn t say either place would be getting federal forces or the National Guard