Trump Orders National Guard Deployment to Memphis Amid High Crime Rates
MEMPHIS, TN – Former President Donald Trump has authorized the deployment of National Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee, in an effort to combat violent crime, the White House announced September 16, 2025. The move follows a similar deployment to Washington, DC, which officials claim has “restored law & order.”
Trump announced the initiative alongside Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who expressed his frustration with crime impacting the city. “I have been in office for seven years. I’m tired of crime holding the great city of Memphis back,” lee stated during a signing ceremony.
According to 2024 FBI crime data, Memphis reported the highest rate of violent crime per capita among US cities with populations of 100,000 or more – 2,501 incidents per 100,000 people. This rate is nearly seven times the national average. The cities of Oakland, California (1,925 per 100,000) and Detroit, Michigan (1,781 per 100,000) followed Memphis in violent crime rates.
However, Memphis police report meaningful crime reductions in the first eight months of 2025. “Overall crime is at a 25-year low, with robbery, burglary, and larceny also reaching 25-year lows. Murder is at a six-year low, aggravated assault at a five-year low, and sexual assault at a twenty-year low,” the department stated last week. Despite these declines, the city has recorded 146 homicides and 4,308 aggravated assault cases in 2025.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat, stated he did not request the National Guard deployment and believes it is indeed not the most effective approach to reducing crime. “Yesterday morning, we learned that the Governor & President have decided to place the National Guard & othre resources in Memphis, which they have the authority to do. I want to be clear: I did not ask for the National Guard and I don’t think it is the way to drive down crime,” Young said on X (formerly Twitter) on September 13, 2025.
Memphis is a city renowned for its contributions to music, notably rock and roll, soul, and the blues.
