Image Credit: TN National Guard / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
The Memphis Police Department (MPD) said Friday that hundreds more National Guard troops will be filtering into the city to serve as additional eyes and support for law enforcement as the Memphis Safe Task Force continues to make arrests, rescue missing children, and dismantle drug and gang networks despite a District Attorney who seems determined to decrease or dismiss charges from the arrests.
According to MPD public affairs manager Faith King, the department anticipates the total Guard presence will increase to roughly 350, about double the current 140-180 members already in the city.
A different estimate has the number closer to 500 troops in total, and another undisclosed source claims the Governor’s Office has been discussing up to 900 National Guard members being sent to each of MPD’s nine precincts. The Governor has not made any public statements to that effect, nor has his office issued a comment or information in response to media inquiry.
The increase comes despite a lawsuit filed by several local Democrats who claim the deployment is in violation of the Tennessee constitution and other state laws. After a hearing earlier this month regarding the request for an injunction to halt the deployment, the judge is still mulling the arguments and has not made any rulings as of this writing.
As of Nov. 12, the Memphis Safe Task Force has made over 2,500 arrests, including almost 300 gang members, located 111 missing children, and seized 412 illegal firearms.
In a recent operation targeting a known “drug and gang hub”, eight people were arrested as officers seized one firearm, over four pounds of marijuana, and $1,000 in cash.
While the physical law enforcement operations appear to be well in hand, the judiciary and prosecutorial aspects are causing concern for local lawmakers and conservatives in the area as liberal Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced a new pilot program which will identify cases to downgrade to misdemeanors to reduce the Shelby County jail population.
Additionally, with the federal surge there is a significant backlog in the jail intake and processing systems, resulting in cases not being brought to trial expeditiously, and Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court judges will reportedly not hold night or Saturday court to take additional cases, saying they can handle the load. The court has also supposedly declined the TN Supreme Court’s offer of additional judges.
In response, TN Republican Senator Brent Taylor is sounding the alarm, calling for action before the DA can further interfere with the task force.
“This reckless, soft-on-crime move comes at a time when we have an unprecedented opportunity to solve Memphis’ crime crisis through aggressive enforcement. IT IS NOT HIS JOB TO WORRY ABOUT THE JAIL POPULATION! His job is to SEEK JUSTICE and PROSECUTE CRIMINALS,” he wrote on social media. “Just as I testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee a couple of months ago, and as Senator Bill Hagerty has said more recently, Mulroy remains the weak link in our justice system. Instead of doing his job and aggressively prosecuting the surge of arrests from the Memphis Safe Task Force, he’s making all kinds of excuses and undermining the hard work of local, state, and federal law enforcement. Memphis deserves better than excuses and downgraded charges from a Soros-backed prosecutor.”
Taylor urged constituents to support his Memphis Safe Task Force Accountability Act, which was filed earlier this month to be heard during the upcoming legislative session. Through the bill, he hopes to keep DAs like Mulroy accountable by requiring any DAs of jurisdictions where the task force is operating to certify any plea agreements, downgrading, or dismissals of felony charges to several oversight agencies.
The Shelby County GOP has consistently supported Taylor’s efforts to hold Mulroy accountable, including passage of a resolution urging federal oversight of the prosecutions stemming from task force arrests.
Most recently, the party called for Mulroy’s removal in response to Taylor’s latest post drawing attention to the DA’s new policy. “Memphis’ Soros-backed DA is harming the Memphis Safe Task Force’s attempts to clean up crime in Memphis. TN’s legislature MUST remove him if we want to clean up crime in Memphis,” the GOP posted.
To date, the General Assembly has never removed a DA from office, but the subject will likely be discussed and considered in the 2026 legislative session.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
