In a surprising twist, Tennessee’s Attorney General has lodged an appeal against a recent ruling that deemed the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis as unlawful. The appeal argues that Governor Bill Lee acted within his rights to send troops in response to a crime situation deemed a “grave emergency.”

This move contrasts sharply with Governor Lee’s statements from late August. At that time, he assured reporters there were no plans to dispatch the National Guard to Memphis, stating the situation did not justify such action.

“There are no circumstances that currently exist that we believe warrant that, so we’re not even talking about that right now. It’s not a consideration for us right now,” Lee remarked on August 26, firmly dismissing the notion of deploying the National Guard.

Only a day later, on August 27, News 2 pressed the governor again on this issue. Lee reiterated his stance, emphasizing that current crime-fighting efforts were concentrated on collaborations with federal and state law enforcement agencies.

“As far as the National Guard is concerned, there has not been any conversation about the National Guard being utilized,” he clarified. “What our conversations are about are the partnerships between the FBI, the TBI, the Highway Patrol and local law enforcement to make sure our streets are safe.”

However, after President Donald Trump doubled down on the idea of sending the Guard to Memphis, and Republicans like Sen. Marsha Blackburn voiced their support, Lee appeared to soften his stance.

“There is nothing that is off the table,” Lee said in early September.

By mid-September, Lee announced the National Guard would be deployed to Memphis and work alongside federal agencies, like the FBI and the U.S. Marshals, as well as state and local law enforcement agencies to form the Memphis Safe Task Force.

“When the information was presented to us that we would have availability of the full resources of the federal government, at that point, the implementation of the National Guard made every sense,” Lee said in early October.

However, on Nov. 17, a judge ruled the governor overstepped his authority by deploying the National Guard. Despite this, troops have remained in Memphis to give the state time to appeal.

The Tennessee Attorney General filed an appeal, arguing the governor can deploy the National Guard, “in case of invasion, disaster, insurrection, riot, attack, or combination to oppose the enforcement of law by force and violence, or imminent danger thereof, or other grave emergency,” the filing reads.

“The facts here check at least two of those boxes,” the AG continued. “One, the dire situation in Memphis — with the highest crime rate in the country — constitutes a ‘grave emergency.’ Id. Two, endemic organized crime in Memphis acts as a ‘combination to oppose the enforcement of law by force and violence.’”

News 2 reached out to the governor’s office for comment, but as of publication, there has been no response.