SHELBY COUNTY, TN— Memphis City Councilman and Attorney JB Smiley Jr. has joined Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Commissioners Erika Sugarmon and Henri Brooks, State Representatives G.A. Hardaway and Gabby Salinas, and State Senator Jeff Yarbro in filing a lawsuit against Governor Bill Lee, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, and Major General Warner Ross III. The suit challenges the illegal deployment of Tennessee National Guard troops in Memphis, carried out at the request of President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit, filed in Davidson County Chancery Court, asserts that Governor Lee’s unilateral deployment violates both the Tennessee Constitution and state law, which clearly limit the Governor’s power to use the National Guard as a domestic police force. According to the complaint, there has been no rebellion, invasion, or request from local officials, the only legal grounds for such a deployment under Tennessee law.
“Governor Bill Lee’s decision to send the National Guard into Memphis at President Trump’s request isn’t leadership…it’s illegal,” said JB Smiley Jr., Memphis City Councilman and Attorney. “The governor has disregarded our laws to deploy troops to intimidate our city, and the president’s talk of using communities like Memphis as training grounds is dangerous and dehumanizing. Memphis deserves to be respected, not treated like the playground of an out-of-control dictator.”
The plaintiffs are seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to immediately halt further National Guard activity in Memphis. The filing argues that the deployment usurps the authority of elected officials, endangers civilian safety, and sets a dangerous precedent for military intrusion into local communities.
Smiley also released a video statement emphasizing that these actions are illegal and that you can not enforce the law while simultaneously breaking the law.
“Tennessee Constitution Article 3 Section 5 tells us that it is illegal,” Smiley said in the video. “TCA 58-1-106 tells us that it is illegal. We have to accept the fact that we have a crime problem and we must do everything in our power to reduce violent crime in our communities but not like this.”
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