Reuters: A Tennessee state court judge temporarily blocked on Monday Republican Governor Bill Lee’s deployment of National Guard troops to the city of Memphis, ruling that the use of troops was likely not legal under the state’s militia law.
Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal of the Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville said the militia law required Tennessee’s General Assembly to call in the National Guard for public safety.
She ruled that crime rates in Memphis were not a “grave emergency” or “disaster” that would authorize Lee to send troops in his role as commander-in-chief of the state’s military forces.
Her order blocks the governor from “continuing the activation and deployment of Tennessee National Guard personnel” pending further court proceedings. But it will not take effect for five days, to give Lee time to appeal.
National Guard troops began patrolling Memphis as part of a federal task force to combat crime after Republican President Donald Trump requested the deployment in September.
State lawmakers and Shelby County mayor Lee Harris sued the governor to block the deployment, saying the use of the troops for law enforcement violates the Tennessee constitution and state laws.
“This is a positive step toward ensuring the rule of law applies to everyone, including everyday Tennesseans and even the governor,” Harris said in a Facebook post on Monday.
Memphis is one of several US cities to which Trump has sent the National Guard, departing from norms against deploying troops on US soil.
Trump has said they are needed to suppress civil unrest, support immigration enforcement and fight crime. Democrats have accused the Republican president of abusing military powers meant for grave emergencies such as an invasion.
