NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Louisiana’s Republican governor calls for the deployment of National Guard to New Orleans and other cities, saying his state needs to fight crime and praise President Donald Trump’s decision to send troops Washington and Memphis, Tennessee.
Trump’s ally, Governor Jeff Landry, requested up to 1,000 units throughout 2026 in a letter sent to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses. That’s a few weeks after Trump I proposed New Orleans Maybe he is one Next target To deploy the National Guard to combat crime.
Trump has also sent his troops in recent months Los Angeles. His administration has announced plans for similar actions in other major cities. Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
Landry said his demands are “built on the proven success” of their deployment to Washington and Memphis. Trump ordered the troops to Memphis with the support of the Republican governor of Tennessee, but there were no major operations in the city on Monday night.
“Federal partnerships have been in work in our toughest cities, and now with the support of President Trump and Secretary Hegses, we are taking the next step by bringing in the National Guard,” Landry said.
Democratically controlled state leaders have criticised the planned development. In Oregon, the elected officials said by the Army of Portland. No need.
Landry said at his request that there was a “increasing violent crime rate” and a shortage in local law enforcement in Shreveport, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He said the state’s vulnerability to natural disasters makes the issue even more difficult, and support will be especially useful for major events such as Mardi Gras and the College Football Bowl Game.
However, crime in some of the state’s biggest cities has been declining recently, with New Orleans seeing a particularly sharp decline in 2025, reaching the pace of killing the lowest numbers in more than 50 years.
Preliminary data from the city police station show that as of September 27th, 2025, there were 84 murders. Truck attack on Bourbon Street. Last year there were 124 murders. In 2023 there was 193.
Baton Rouge, the state’s capital, also saw a decrease in murders compared to last year, according to police station figures. However, data also shows that robberies and attacks are at a pace that exceeded last year’s numbers.
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Associated Press Writer Sarah Klein contributed to this report.
