NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will appeal a judge’s ruling that ordered the National Guard to leave Memphis, his office said Tuesday.
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said the state will challenge a Davidson County chancellor’s decision that temporarily blocked Lee from continuing to deploy the Tennessee National Guard to the city.
The case presents legal questions that have ramifications “for all Tennesseans for centuries to come,” Skrmetti said.
The National Guard will stay in Memphis while the appeal moves forward, Lee’s office said. The governor’s communications director, Elizabeth Johnson, said Memphis is facing “a violent crime emergency that the state must address.”
“There’s no question these public safety efforts must continue,” Johnson said. The Memphis Safe Task Force has made 2,800 arrests, taken more than 450 illegal guns off the streets, and found 114 missing children, she added.
Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal issued the ruling Monday as part of a lawsuit filed by Democratic state and local officials. The plaintiffs said Republican Gov. Lee cannot deploy the Tennessee National Guard for civil unrest unless there is rebellion or invasion, and even then, it would require action by state lawmakers.
The plaintiffs also said Tennessee law requires a request from local government to use the Guard when there’s a “breakdown of law and order.”
Moskal found that the governor’s power as commander-in-chief of the National Guard is not unlimited. She wrote, “There is no rebellion or invasion currently taking place in Memphis.”
Moskal also said that Lee has not issued a formal written order to deploy the troops, only a press release.
Moskal also found that the National Guard’s limited role as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force is to serve a support and deterrence function. She wrote that this role does not appear to be critical to the task force’s mission of fighting violent crime.
The lawsuit was filed by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, state lawmakers and county commissioners. Harris said the Guard’s presence is being used to cause fear in residents and damages the city’s reputation.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat, said he never requested that the Guard come to his city. Young is not involved in the lawsuit but has said he wanted the task force to focus on targeting violent offenders.
As of mid-November, about 140 to 180 Guard personnel were on the ground in Memphis, according to the Memphis Police Department.
President Donald Trump announced in September that the National Guard would be deployed to combat crime in Memphis as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force. The task force includes authorities from federal agencies including the U.S. Marshals, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, ATF and DEA, along with Tennessee corrections officers and local deputies.
The injunction will take effect five days after the plaintiffs post a $50,000 bond, unless the state files an appeal within that time. Lee’s office confirmed the state will appeal.
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