Democratic officials who sued Gov. Bill Lee over his decision to send the National Guard to Memphis praised a judge’s order to temporarily block the deployment, but warned there was “a mighty ways to go” before the city may see an end to the military presence.
Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal ruled Monday that the governor had exceeded his authority in unilaterally deploying the Guard to Memphis as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force established by President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, the governor’s office said it planned to appeal Moskal’s ruling.
In a statement,Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti framed the legal battle to keep the Guard in Memphis in historic terms, one with “ramifications for not just the safety of Memphians now but for all Tennesseans for centuries to come.”
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, a plaintiff in the suit, told reporters Tuesday he was prepared for the lengthy legal battle ahead.