Overview

• Deployments begin next week in phases under a U.S. Marshals–chaired Memphis Safe Task Force involving 13 federal agencies alongside Memphis police and state troopers.
• Tennessee National Guard members will serve only in a support role without arrest powers and will be unarmed unless requested by MPD, and no state of emergency will be declared.
• The state committed $100 million in public safety grants and up to 300 troopers, allowing roughly 100 to be on the ground at any time in Shelby County.
• Officials have not finalized exact Guard numbers or precise arrival dates, though Gov. Bill Lee previously suggested the headcount would likely stay under 150 as planning continues.
• City guidance says Guard personnel will wear standard uniforms with no masks and no armored tanks, while local leaders remain divided and a council effort to oppose the deployment failed.