The attorney general told reporters on Monday that the task force will continue to operate in the face of ‘judges who continue to obstruct our efforts’
MEMPHIS—Since the Trump administration first deployed federal officers to Memphis in late September, the city has seen a 48 percent decrease in homicides, Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a press conference on Monday. The “Memphis Safe Task Force” has also led to a 45 percent year-over-year decrease in “overall serious crime,” a 49 percent drop in sexual assaults, and nearly 3,000 arrests, she told reporters, adding that the task force has recovered more than 100 missing children in less than two months.
“In every city across the country, our message is clear,” Bondi said. “If you’re committing violent crimes, if you’re committing any crime, we will find you, we will bring you to justice and we will protect the law-abiding citizens in this country.”
The news of the task force’s results comes as Bondi and the Trump administration face pushback and legal challenges from Tennessee Democrats. A state judge blocked the administration’s deployment of the National Guard in Memphis earlier this month after critics argued that the move violated Tennessee law.
The Justice Department appealed the ruling, and Bondi said Monday that the task force—which includes officials from the DOJ, FBI, United States Marshals Service, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Drug Enforcement Administration—will continue to operate.
“Unfortunately, the safety of our community is compromised by judges who continue to obstruct our efforts,” Bondi told reporters. “I wish they are all watching this, and I hope they are seeing what we’re doing here in Memphis. We will use every legal means at our disposal to make America safe again, and to keep Americans safe.”
Tennessee Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, Gov. Bill Lee (R.), Housing and Urban Development secretary Scott Turner, and Gadyaces Serralta, director of the U.S. Marshals Service, also spoke at the event.
Blackburn praised the “results that have been achieved in 56 days” but told reporters the task force’s job is not done.
“We know this is going to be a long term effort,” she said. “We know it doesn’t happen overnight, but it is such a wonderful example of how this can be the model for the rest of the country, on how you come together as a team, how you fight violent crime.”
