ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Six Republican governors sent National Guard troops to Washington in response to the president's request for help controlling what he called D.C.'s out of controlled (ph) crime. Mississippi sent 200 soldiers, even as the state capital faces high crime rates. Mississippi Public Broadcasting's Shamira Muhammad reports on the local reaction.
(SOUNDBITE OF TELEPHONE RINGING)
SHAMIRA MUHAMMAD, BYLINE: It's lunchtime at Bully's soul food restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi's capital city. Local resident Shirley McClendon waits for her order. She says she was disappointed when she heard that Mississippi sent National Guard troops to Washington.
SHIRLEY MCCLENDON: It's like status quo that Mississippi is Trump-supported, and anything that he supports, we tend to support always. And I would like for us to be more independent in our thoughts.
MUHAMMAD: In a statement, Governor Tate Reeves says he sent 200 Mississippi soldiers to Washington to, quote, "support President Trump's effort to return law and order to our nation's capital." But crime is also a big issue in Jackson. Law enforcement data shows the city's murder rate is four times higher than Washington D.C.'s. And state data shows that violent crime in the county that includes Jackson is up more than 300% so far this year. Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Cheikh Taylor says the goal of targeting crime, especially in Washington, D.C., is misplaced.
CHEIKH TAYLOR: If there was an attempt to decrease crime by Governor Tate Reeves, it probably should have started at home. His only obligation is to the state of Mississippi.
MUHAMMAD: But in his statement, Reeves says, quote, "Americans deserve a safe capital city that we can all be proud of." Mississippi's Republican Party chairman, Mike Hurst, agrees.
MIKE HURST: And with every single state in the union sending representatives and senators there, and people from all over the world coming to our nation's capital, I think it's imperative that we all pitch in together and make sure that it's safe for not just us citizens, but visitors from around the world.
MUHAMMAD: Hurst acknowledges that there is high crime in Jackson but blames past city government officials for not doing more to fight it. The current mayor of Jackson, John Horhn, says he's not ready to ask for National Guard troops, despite a rash of gang violence he says is terrorizing neighborhoods. The mayor says a law enforcement task force is being set up to fight violent crime.
For NPR News, I'm Shamira Muhammad in Jackson, Mississippi. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
