‘You are unleashed’: White House officials rally Memphis law enforcement ahead of National Guard troop deployment

**Trump Administration Launches Crime Crackdown in Memphis: “Law Enforcement Officers Are Unleashed”**

Law enforcement officers in Memphis have been given broad authority to make arrests, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller declared, as the Trump administration initiates a crime crackdown in Tennessee’s second-largest city.

Last month, President Donald Trump mobilized the National Guard and established the Memphis Safe Task Force—a coalition of about a dozen federal law enforcement agencies tasked with combating crime in the city. Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis confirmed Tuesday that National Guard troops are expected to arrive within the next two weeks.

Just two days after the task force began its operations, Miller, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rallied state and federal officers in Memphis on Wednesday.

“To the guns and bats in this room, you are unleashed,” Miller told the crowd. “The handcuffs you’re carrying? They’re not on you anymore; they’re on the criminals.”

Speaking directly to the Memphis Police Department, Miller added, “We are about to provide you with a level of support that you cannot even imagine.”

Even before senior Trump administration officials arrived, the task force’s operations appeared to be in full swing. According to Bondi’s social media post on Wednesday morning, the task force had made 53 arrests and seized 20 illegal firearms since Monday.

Miller also emphasized the federal government’s commitment to the city’s law enforcement efforts. “The federal troops are not going to be sitting behind a desk with a keyboard,” he said. “We’re sending in real cops, with guns and badges, to go out with you on the street every single night making arrests.”

“Every resource we have—federal, state, and local—we are going to use to dismantle their networks without apology and without mercy,” Miller vowed. “Everything we have, we are going to bulldoze the criminal element of this city and thereby liberate all the law-abiding citizens in this city.”

The remarks drew criticism from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who told CNN Wednesday night, “To tell law enforcement that they are now unleashed and they can use their guns is essentially saying: Go in primarily inner-city communities and shoot people.”

The task force includes agents from various federal agencies, such as immigration and drug enforcement. These agents have begun serving criminal arrest warrants and are working alongside state agencies like the Tennessee Highway Patrol to conduct traffic stops on interstates and state roads.

Bondi stated that more than 200 officers have been deputized. “We are going to work hand-in-hand to make the most violent crime city in the country have no crime,” she told the assembled crowd.

This initiative is part of a broader effort led by President Trump to deploy National Guard troops and surge federal law enforcement presence in American cities, particularly those governed by Democrats. Trump has defended the move as necessary, while criticizing Democrats’ policies on crime and immigration.

Following deployments of National Guard troops in the District of Columbia and Los Angeles, Trump referred to Portland, Oregon, as “war-ravaged” and warned of apocalyptic force in Chicago.

Mobile command centers for the Marshals Service and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have been established at a staging area for the task force. A spokesperson for the Marshals Service indicated that periodic updates will be released, detailing arrest numbers, types of charges, and participating agencies.

“With the addition of federal resources in Memphis, including enhanced interagency collaboration, it’s reasonable to expect an increase in warrant enforcement activity, particularly targeting violent offenders who pose a threat to public safety,” Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Ryan Guay said in an email to The Associated Press.

The task force also includes members of the Tennessee National Guard. Republican Governor Bill Lee has said he expects no more than 150 National Guard members to be deployed to Memphis, though final numbers have yet to be confirmed. The city has clarified that no tanks will be used, and Governor Lee stated that Guard troops will not make arrests or carry arms unless requested by local authorities.

When asked about the timing of the Guard’s integration with the Memphis Police Department, Chief Davis said during a town-hall meeting Tuesday evening that deployment could take a couple of weeks.

Memphis has experienced high rates of violent crime such as carjackings and homicides in recent years. However, both Democratic and Republican officials have noted decreases in some crime categories this year.

Opponents of the deployment characterize it as an unnecessary federal occupation of a majority-Black city that would benefit more from increased funding to address poverty and other root causes of crime. Supporters, meanwhile, welcome the infusion of law enforcement resources to help the city continue its efforts in reducing violence despite recent improvements in crime statistics.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/memphis-stephen-miller-unleashed-national-guard-b2837719.html