Tennessee to appeal judge order temporarily withdrawing the National Guard from Memphis

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A judge ordered to temporarily withdraw the National Guard from Memphis on Monday night.

The ruling raised questions about what it would take to activate troops in Nashville.

A judge ruled under Tennessee law, the governor can call up the National Guard but only under specific conditions such as a rebellion, disaster or public safety crisis, and with permission from the General Assembly.

“We all want to protect our citizens,” State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) said. “We all want gang members off our streets. We want our community safe, but you can’t break the law and ignore the Constitution.”

U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) has repeatedly called for the National Guard to be deployed to Nashville, but Democrats say it’s just not going to happen under state law.

“There’s just no argument in Nashville that we’re under a rebellion or an invasion, or circumstances so dire the civil authorities of the city can no longer maintain order and safety. It’s laughable,” State Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) said.

The injunction found that those requirements were not met in Memphis and that key steps were missing such as a local government request for help and proper emergency declarations.

“You could say invasion is over a hundred gangs coming into Memphis and Shelby County; you could say an invasion is illegal immigrants coming into Memphis,” Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said. “At the end of the day, you have a high crime city that does not have the resources that needed the additional help.”

The Governor’s Office released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying the state will appeal the court’s decision, and the Tennessee National Guard will continue to operate as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force. To date, they’ve made 2,800 arrests, confiscated more than 450 illegal firearms and located 114 missing children.

“The community is feeling safer,” Sexton said. “They are making a difference, and for the judge to make this decision, I think they’re on the wrong side of it.”

Still, Democrats say the law is the law and there are better ways to tackle crime.

“We should be able to rely on our courts to withstand that political pressure and just read the constitution and read the laws of the state of Tennessee and to find this is not appropriate,” Yarbro said.