NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Attorney General has filed an appeal to a recent ruling that the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis is illegal, arguing the governor was within his authority to send the troops due to the crime situation there being a “grave emergency.”
It’s a sharp turn from Gov. Bill Lee’s comments made in late August when he told reporters he had no plans to deploy the National Guard to Memphis because it wasn’t warranted.
“There are no circumstances that currently exist that we believe warrant that, so we’re not even talking about that right now. It’s not a consideration for us right now,” Gov. Lee said Aug. 26.
AUGUST VIDEO | Gov. Lee on National Guard deployment in Memphis
The following day, News 2 again asked the governor if he had plans to deploy the guard to Memphis. Lee’s response focused on crime fighting efforts in Memphis already underway…