National Guard, Trump and Memphis
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President Donald Trump announced the deployment of officers from a wide array of federal law enforcement agencies to Memphis, Tennessee, at the request of Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) to crack down on crime in what was the most dangerous city in the United States last year.
Trump on Monday said he planned to send National Guard troops to Memphis. The news gives fresh relevance to NPR's recent interview with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who declined to ask for the military.
The Tennessee Supreme Court effectively sided with the Memphis Police Association in the latest turn of the long-running feud between MPD and its union.
A source says the Memphis mayor, Tennessee governor and U.S. Senator spoke for months about fighting crime. The National Guard was not a factor.
Calling the city a "death trap," President Trump on Tuesday again threatened to send in National Guard troops to Chicago as part of a federal crackdown on crime.