Memphis Residents Sue Trump Administration Over Memphis Safe Task Force Operations

Four residents from Memphis, Tennessee, filed a lawsuit on May 13, 2026, accusing the administration of United States President Donald Trump of harassment during operations by the Memphis Safe Task Force. The complaint, filed on Wednesday, focuses on the task force that President Donald Trump launched in September 2025 in collaboration with state and local officials.

It was initiated at the invitation of Governor Bill Lee.

The task force includes Tennessee State Troopers, members of the Tennessee National Guard, and agents from 13 federal agencies. The lawsuit lists acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche as a defendant, along with the heads of agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

State officials, including the leader of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, are also named in the complaint.

Members of the US National Guard worked as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force on October 12, 2025. The task force has conducted about 120,000 traffic stops in Memphis, a majority-Black city with a population of nearly 610,000. The plaintiffs allege that agents retaliated against locals for engaging in activities protected under the First Amendment, including filming arrests.

"In the professed name of crime control, Task Force agents have stopped, menaced, and arrested Memphians engaging in routine, day-to-day activities," the lawsuit says. " It describes threats of arrests and physical intimidation, including government vehicles that swerved at activists monitoring enforcement operations. Hunter Demster is one of the plaintiffs.

He lives in a community with a large Hispanic population where the task force regularly stops cars. Demster alleges he was surrounded by agents after filming one such stop and informing those in the car that they had the right not to speak to the police. "It is a terrifying feeling," Demster said.

"I did nothing illegal. " The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is involved in representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed on May 13, 2026. " "Like folks in Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, and elsewhere across the country, Memphis residents have picked up their phones and cameras to document the massive influx of law enforcement officers into their community," Kim said.

The US government denied any wrongdoing related to the Memphis Safe Task Force. ” Al Jazeera reported these details from the complaint and statements.