Senator Blackburn says Memphis Safe Task Force is a huge success
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF SENATOR MARSHA BLACKBURN:
The Numbers Are In: The Memphis Safe Task Force Is a Huge Success
One year ago this month, the American people voted to send President Trump back to the Oval Office with a powerful mandate to make American cities safe again after four years of rising crime under the Biden administration. No city needed this support more than Memphis.
In 2024, the city recorded the highest crime rate in the country as criminal gangs turned many neighborhoods into warzones. It’s why earlier this year, when I met with now-FBI Director Kash Patel ahead of his confirmation hearing, I urged him to deploy federal resources to help end Memphis’s crime crisis. And that’s exactly what this administration has done.
As a first step over the summer, the FBI launched Operation Viper in coordination with the U.S. Marshals, ATF, and DEA to gather intelligence and surge federal resources to lower crime in Memphis. As a result of that operation, authorities arrested more than 500 gang members.
Then, in late September, I had the honor of joining President Trump in the Oval Office as he signed an order to establish the Memphis Safe Task Force. Its goal: to coordinate efforts between more than a dozen federal and state agencies, including the Memphis Police Department, Tennessee National Guard, FBI, Justice Department, and U.S. Marshals, to build on the success of Operation Viper and continue to get violent criminals off the street.
Already, this task force has delivered incredible results, locking up repeat, violent criminals who have terrorized Memphians for far too long. In just a month of operations, authorities have made more than 2,300 arrests, including 136 warrant arrests for aggravated assault, 153 for domestic violence, 31 for robbery, 15 for sexual assault, and 23 for homicide.
As U.S. Marshals Director Gadyaces Serralta noted on my podcast “Unmuted,” “most of the arrests are violent warrants of individuals who have committed violent crimes in the past that get caught again by us either committing additional crimes or [are] just fugitives from justice.”
Director Serralta also noted that over the same time frame, the Memphis Safe Task Force is on track to surpass the total number of arrests conducted by the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, which recently reached 5,000 arrests.
In addition, the task force has recovered 539 illegal guns and 325 stolen vehicles while apprehending more than 140 known gang members, including a 34-year-old Mexican national wanted for first-degree murder. More than 100 missing children have also been located.
This is a huge step forward for Memphis. It should be no surprise, then, that the vast majority of Tennesseans support the Memphis Safe Task Force, including 63 percent who approve of President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard.
Already, Memphians are feeling empowered to enjoy their wonderful city without fear of crime. For the opening night for the Memphis Grizzlies, fans came out to the game in huge numbers knowing that law enforcement was there to keep the peace. As one fan outside the FedExForum put it: “It is so peaceful…we’re just enjoying life and it just feels so free.”
This is something that all Americans should celebrate. We will not stop fighting to make Memphis the safest city in America and ensure its very best days are ahead.
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