All articles tagged with #memphis
A fourth person has been killed in connection with the Trump-initiated Memphis Safe Task Force during a DEA operation, with authorities saying the suspect at a Poplar Avenue motel pointed a handgun after commands and officers fired; the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating, and the earlier three deaths occurred within two months in relation to the task force.
Tennessee investigators are probing after two National Guard soldiers fatally shot 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson in downtown Memphis as they joined a manhunt for a gunman as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, formed under a Trump-backed federal operation. Police say Johnson turned toward guards with a handgun, prompting gunfire; the shooting is being reviewed at the AG’s request by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which will not yet determine justification or identify the guards involved. The incident adds to controversy surrounding the federally backed task force, which has faced lawsuits and public scrutiny amid prior fatal shootings and allegations of intimidation.
An armed man identified as Tyrin Johnson was fatally shot by Tennessee National Guard soldiers during a predawn pursuit in downtown Memphis near Ida B. Wells Avenue just before 4 a.m. Police had responded to shots fired and encountered several people fleeing; Johnson allegedly turned toward guardsmen who then opened fire. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is leading the state probe at the request of the Shelby County DA to determine whether the shooting was legally justified, and no officers or guardsmen were injured.
Two Tennessee National Guard soldiers shot and killed a 20-year-old man, Tyrin Johnson, in Memphis after authorities say Johnson turned and pointed a gun at them during a chase; no others were injured, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is leading the probe, as questions linger about the governor’s deployment of the guard and the Memphis Safe Task Force.
Two Tennessee National Guard members on a Memphis crime-fighting patrol fatally shot Tyrin Johnson, 20, after he turned toward them with a gun during a downtown foot pursuit; Johnson died at the scene and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating. The guardsmen were part of a federal task force deployed to curb crime in Memphis, a deployment that has drawn scrutiny amid multiple shootings and ongoing political controversy.
The ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against state and federal officials running the Trump-ordered Memphis anti-crime taskforce, alleging months of retaliation against observers through tailing, home surveillance, pretextual stops, and at least one aggressive arrest. Six plaintiffs describe incidents such as unmarked-vehicle intimidation and a rough body-cam arrest, arguing the tactics violate constitutional rights and misuse Tennessee’s Halo Law; supporters say the taskforce has contributed to notable crime reductions in Memphis.
Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis announced he is ending his bid for reelection after his district was redrawn amid nationwide redistricting battles sparked by last month’s Supreme Court decision, signaling upheaval in his political career as map fights reshape contests nationwide.
Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen announced he is dropping his bid for reelection in Tennessee’s 9th district after the state legislature redrew the district, splitting Memphis into parts of several districts; Cohen, the state's only Democrat, plans to retire after nearly two decades in Congress and has been a longtime advocate for civil rights and policing reform.
Republicans in Tennessee’s legislature approved a sweeping Congressional redistricting map that splits Memphis into three districts, arguing it improves GOP prospects in the 9th District, while opponents call it a racially targeted move tied to voting rights concerns. The hurried vote triggered floor protests, walkouts, and arrests, as critics likened the action to Jim Crow-era tactics. The NAACP filed for an emergency injunction, and election officials will have to revise materials ahead of August primaries and November elections.
After the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, Tennessee’s GOP-led legislature redrew the map, breaking Memphis’s Ninth District—long a Democratic base with a Black majority—into three Republican-leaning districts and eliminating the state’s sole majority-Black district. Republicans say the changes are about population shifts and politics, not race, while critics argue they dilute Black voting power; Nashville’s district was similarly reconfigured in recent years. The move fits a broader wave of partisan redistricting in the South, with primaries set for Aug. 6.
Republican-led Tennessee redraws maps to erase the state’s last Democratic, Black-majority congressional district by splitting Shelby County into three GOP-leaning districts, prompting protests as Democrats decry it as diluting Black representation; the move follows broader southern redistricting amid a Supreme Court ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act.
Republican lawmakers in Tennessee approved a mid-decade redrawing of the state’s congressional map that splits Memphis and Shelby County into three districts, effectively dissolving the lone Democratic-leaning seat. Governor Bill Lee signed the bill amid protests, and Democrats vow to sue over the changes. The move comes as GOP-leaning redistricting accelerates nationwide following a Supreme Court ruling narrowing the Voting Rights Act’s protections for minority voting power.
Republicans in Tennessee approved a new congressional map that carves Memphis into three districts to dilute Black voters and eliminate the state's last Democratic House seat, a move tied to the Supreme Court's weakening of the Voting Rights Act and met with protests at the state capitol.
Tennessee lawmakers are set to vote on a Trump-backed U.S. House map that would carve up Memphis and threaten the state's only majority-Black district, sparking protests and a disrupted committee meeting during a special-session redistricting showdown.
Tennessee Senate and House Republicans released a new congressional map that divides Memphis into three districts and the Nashville area into five, aligning with President Trump's call to redraw lines after the Supreme Court rolled back Voting Rights Act protections.