MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC/ courtesy of WVLT) – A group of Memphis and Tennessee lawmakers filed a lawsuit challenging the deployment of the National Guard in Memphis.
City council member JB Smiley, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Commissioners Erika Sugarmon and Henri Brooks, State Representatives G.A. Hardaway and Gabby Salinas and State Senator Jeff Yarbro have filed the suit against Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Major General Warner Ross.
The suit was filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville. The group argues that Governor Lee’s unilateral deployment of troops violate state law and the Tennessee Constitution.
The group is seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to stop all National Guard activity in Memphis.
Action News 5 has reached out to Governor Lee and AG Skrmetti for comment.
Read the full suit below:
This comes after Harris issued a state of emergency in Shelby County in response to the Memphis Safe Task Force’s presence in the Memphis area.
Yarbro (D-Nashville) has previously questioned questioning the legality of the deployment of the National Guard in Memphis streets and says a previous decision barring such action has been deleted.
Yabro points to an opinion made by former Attorney General Herbert Slatery from from May 2021 that has since been deleted.
