WASHINGTON—Attorney General Pam Bondi informed President Donald Trump during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Oct. 9 that law enforcement officers have arrested 562 suspects since deploying in Memphis, Tennessee, just over a week ago.
Federal agents and local officers detained 91 individuals—including a man wanted for sexually abusing a child, three other sex offenders, and a suspect with a warrant for homicide—and seized 19 illegal firearms on Oct. 8, she said.
Capturing the individual who harmed a child is a highlight of the operation, according to the attorney general.
“Everything we did in Memphis was worth it, in my opinion, for that one arrest,” Bondi said. “Think about that. We got a child rapist off the streets … and we’re still going strong in Memphis.”
Trump issued a presidential memorandum on Sept. 15 titled “Restoring Law and Order in Memphis,” establishing a Memphis Safe Task Force and ordering the National Guard and a host of federal government agencies to assist state and local law enforcement.
His directive highlights crime rates in Memphis that include the nation’s highest incidence of violence per capita.
The city also has some of the worst per capita murder, robbery, and aggravated assault rates.
The Epoch Times observed Homeland Security Investigations and FBI agents patrolling high traffic areas, including historic Beale Street, where revelers enjoy live music until the late hours of the night.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee told a news station on Oct. 6 that Guard members were not yet on site but were expected in the coming weeks.
Lee, a Republican, joined Trump in the Oval Office on Sept. 15 for the announcement of the task force.
According to a statement from Memphis Mayor Paul Young, the National Guard will not make arrests.
Members will serve as extra “eyes and ears” while patrolling the city in their standard uniforms, with no tanks deployed, the mayor said.
Residents and visitors appear to overwhelmingly support the increased law enforcement presence, based on hundreds of interviews that The Epoch Times conducted between Oct. 2 and Oct. 6.
People of all ages, with a variety of backgrounds, expressed gratitude for the positive impact that they said the federal agents have on public safety.
“I love it,” said John Harris, a longtime Memphis local who’s now semi-retired and working at People’s on Beale, a billiards hall on the popular entertainment block.
“We had all kinds of problems on this street because of the thugs and criminals.”
Having seen downtown change over the past half-century, Harris said he thanked Trump for offering hope to Memphians.
“You see how quiet it is tonight. When the FBI is here, the troublemakers stay away,” Harris said. “We needed this.”
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