On Friday, a number of state and municipal legislators sued Governor Bill Lee, contesting the Tennessee National Guard’s presence in Memphis.
The deployment is all part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on national crime, specifically with the Memphis Safe Task Force.
The case, filed in Davidson County Chancery Court, claims that Governor Lee’s deployment violates the Tennessee Constitution and state law, which limit the Governor’s authority to utilize the National Guard as a domestic police force.
State Representatives G.A. Hardaway and Gabby Salinas, State Senator Jeff Yarbro, County Commissioners Erika Sugarmon and Henri Brooks, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, and Memphis City Councilman J.B. Smiley are the ones responsible with the lawsuit.
As of Thursday, the Department of Justice said the Memphis Safe Task Force had made nearly 1,000 arrests in the operation that’s been in effect for several weeks.
Today, I joined local and state leaders in filing a lawsuit against Governor Bill Lee @govbilllee for his unlawful deployment of the National Guard in Memphis.#shelbycounty #memphis #jbsmileyir #nationalguard #democracy #smileyformayor #troops #lawsuit #billlee pic.twitter.com/m1v2aTu6w1
— JB Smiley, Jr., Esq. (@jbsmileyjr) October 17, 2025
