Gov. Jeff Landry has formally asked the federal government to support a yearlong activation of up to 1,000 members of the Louisiana National Guard, pointing to the Trump administration’s “successful model” of deploying the military in Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee.
Landry’s office announced Monday evening he had sent a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with his request. (Read the letter below)
“Louisiana currently faces a convergence of elevated violent crime rates in Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans coupled with critical personnel shortages within local law enforcement,” the governor wrote. “These manpower shortages limit their ability to effectively address this public safety threat and consequently, incidents of homicide, carjacking, and gang-related violence, significantly exceed the national average.”
The governor’s letter asks for federal assistance through the end of fiscal year 2026, which is Sept. 30 of next year.
That was my understanding. He might be limited in how he can legally deploy them, but no one is going to stop him at this point, especially not in Louisiana.