{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2025/10/crime/video-tennessee-state-senator-brent-taylor-joins-unmuted-with-marsha-to-discuss-memphis-crime-crackdown", "VIDEO: Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor Joins \u2018Unmuted with Marsha\u2019 to Discuss Memphis Crime Crackdown", "2025-10-03", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "www.blackburn.senate.gov", "blackburn", "https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released a new episode of \u2018Unmuted with Marsha\u2019 with Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor, who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday about rampant crime in blue cities like Memphis. During the episode, they discussed President Trump\u2019s \u2018Memphis Safe Task Force,\u2019 the failures of radical left District Attorneys, and the need to pass Senator Blackburn\u2019s legislation to end cashless bail nationwide.\n\nClick here to watch and download this episode of \u2018Unmuted with Marsha.\u2019\n\nOn the Memphis Safe Task Force and Operation Viper\n\nSenator Blackburn: \u201cWe are hard at work on these components and making certain that we surge resources into the Memphis area. And of course, Kash Patel our FBI director, our Attorney General Bondi, and President Trump have been incredibly committed to Memphis, and we had the FBI surge this summer, from mid-July to mid-September. 500 plus arrests of gang members, over 120 indictments, and now those are ready to go on for prosecution. And we have phase two, which is 13 federal and state agencies that are all focused on supporting the Memphis Police Department and getting crime under control.\u201d\n\nState Senator Taylor: \u201cWe're finally going to make Memphis matter by making Memphis safe\u2026 This is really the first city since Washington, DC that the President sent this type of surge of federal resources. And I think\u2026 what Memphis can be is the model for the rest of the nation\u2026 when the President sends this type of surge into other cities to see how the cooperation you have with a city, mayor, and a governor... I'm hoping that we have the same kind of success that we that he had in Washington, D.C.\u201d\n\nOn Memphis District Attorney\u2019s Soft-on-Crime Agenda:\n\nSenator Blackburn: \u201cOne of the problems that we have seen is the fact that you have these surges, then you have weak judges and weak DAs that will not finish this process. And of course, the DA in Memphis\u2026 in Shelby County has been very soft on crime. They are Soros-backed.\u201d\n\nState Senator Taylor: \u201cI hear from constituents that are not typical Republican, constituents from the inner city. They're absolutely fed up with the crime in Memphis. And since you made the announcement that these federal resources are coming, I've had people call me\u2026 saying, \u2018thank you because it's our community that that's suffering.\u2019 And so they're glad that these resources are coming, and they will be glad when the day comes when we have a new DA.\u201d\n\nOn Senator Blackburn\u2019s Legislation to End Cashless Bail Nationwide:\n\nSenator Blackburn: \u201cI\u2019ve got legislation, and Representative Stefanik has it over in the House, and it would end cashless bail in D.C., and a second bill that would remove federal law enforcement grants from cities and states that practice cashless bail. What kind of impact has cashless bail had on Memphis and in having these recidivist criminals out on the streets?\u201d\n\nState Senator Taylor: \u201cI appreciate the bill that you're sponsoring of withholding federal funds for cities and communities that they engage in cashless bail because that will hold these local communities accountable\u2026 In Memphis, we had these judges, I just mentioned they were letting people out on bail. They had Jaylen Lobley who was arrested on gun charges. He was released on his own recognizance, only about a month later to be found at two o'clock in the morning in south southwest Memphis by the police. He gets in a gunfight with the police and Officer Joseph McKinney was killed.\u201d\n\nRELATED\n\nVIDEO: Blackburn, Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor Discuss Crime Crackdown in Memphis\n\nVIDEO: Blackburn Joins President Trump at White House for Announcement of \u201cMemphis Safe Task Force\u201d to Combat Crime\n\nBlackburn Applauds President Trump\u2019s Decision to Send National Guard to Memphis\n\nBlackburn, Cornyn Introduce Bills to End Cashless Bail in D.C. and Nationwide\n\nVIDEO: Blackburn Praises Trump\u2019s D.C. Crime Crackdown", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2025/10/crime/video-tennessee-state-senator-brent-taylor-joins-unmuted-with-marsha-to-discuss-memphis-crime-crackdown"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6436069272458553, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}