Memphis, Tennessee, is the next US city where President Donald Trump is sending National Guard troops as part his ongoing crackdown on crime in Democrat-led cities.
Trump made the announcement during a wide-ranging interview on Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends on Friday, and said the city’s mayor, a Democrat, is “happy” about the decision, as is the state’s governor, a Republican.
The deployment to Memphis would mark an escalation in the president’s use of troops and comes roughly a month after he sent the National Guard to the streets of Washington DC.
Memphis has one of the highest rates of crime in the US, with 2,501 violent crimes per 100,000 people, data from the FBI shows.
“We’re going to Memphis,” Trump said, without giving details of when troops would arrive. “Memphis is deeply troubled.”
He said he also wanted to lower crime in New Orleans and Chicago.
The country has been wondering for weeks if he would deploy troops to Chicago, as his “Operation Midway Blitz” for immigration enforcement ramps up. On Friday Trump appeared to indicate he had chosen to send the National Guard to Memphis instead of the midwestern city, saying “I would have preferred going to Chicago.”
The Memphis mayor did not respond to a BBC request for comment confirming Trump’s announcement.
Earlier in the week, the mayor, Paul Young, released a statement saying he had been in talks with the Trump administration about bringing in federal support for the city’s police department.
“What we need most are financial resources for intervention and prevention, additional patrol officers, and case support to strengthen investigations,” Young said.
“Memphis is already making measurable progress in bringing down crime, and we support initiatives that help accelerate the pace of the work our officers, community partners, and residents are doing every day.”
Trump took charge of the Washington DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on 11 August and activated the National Guard.
The takeover of the local police department was valid for 30 days which expired earlier this week.
Hundreds of arrests were made during those 30 days, the White House said, and Trump has said DC is now “virtually crime free”.
Despite that, troops are expected to remain in the nation’s capital for the foreseeable future, and many of them can be seen around the city helping with trash collection and mulching.
Since the DC deployment, Trump has threatened to send the National Guard to Baltimore, Chicago and New Orleans.
The use of National Guard to support law enforcement has come under scrutiny by legal experts, with some concerned about using the military against civilians.
A court recently said Trump’s previous deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles earlier this year was unlawful, but said the ruling does not apply to the deployment of troops elsewhere.
By BBC News
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