NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Republican governor of Louisiana has requested National Guard deployments in New Orleans and additional cities, citing the necessity of assistance in combating crime. On Monday, he expressed approval of President Donald Trump’s initiative to send troops to Washington and Memphis.
Gov. Jeff Landry, who supports Trump, requested up to 1,000 troops for use until the fiscal year 2026 via a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. This appeal comes several weeks after Trump indicated that New Orleans might be among the next cities to receive National Guard support for crime control.
In recent months, Trump has also dispatched troops to Los Angeles, with future plans announced to undertake similar measures in other large cities, such as Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
Landry claimed that this request “builds on the proven success” seen in Washington and Memphis deployments. Although Trump ordered troops to Memphis with the endorsement of Tennessee’s Republican governor, as of Monday night, no extensive operations had commenced in the city.
“Federal partnerships in our toughest cities have worked, and now, with the support of President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, we are taking the next step by bringing in the National Guard,” Landry stated.
Democratic-led states’ leaders have voiced opposition to the planned deployments. For instance, officials in Oregon have expressed that troops are unnecessary in Portland.
In his request, Landry said there has been “elevated violent crime rates” in Shreveport, Baton Rouge and New Orleans as well as shortages in local law enforcement. He said the state’s vulnerability to natural disasters made the issue more challenging and that extra support would be especially helpful for major events, including Mardi Gras and college football bowl games.
But crime in some of the state’s biggest cities has actually decreased recently, with New Orleans, seeing a particularly steep drop in 2025 that has put it on pace to have its lowest number of killings in more than five decades.
Preliminary data from the city police department shows that there have been 75 homicides so far in 2025. That count includes the 14 revelers who were killed on New Year’s Day during a truck attack on Bourbon Street. Last year, there were 124 homicides. In 2023 there were 193.
In Baton Rouge, the state capital, has also seen a decrease in homicides compared to last year, according to police department figures. Data also shows, however, that robberies and assaults are on pace to surpass last year’s numbers.
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Associated Press reporter Sara Cline contributed to this report.
