After deploying around 200 Mississippi National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has responded to questions surrounding his decision not to place a military presence in Jackson.
Jackson, in the past, has earned the moniker of “America’s murder capital” because of its high homicide rates. In 2021, Mississippi’s capital had a nation-leading 99.5 homicides per 100,000 people. The total death toll that year included 160 slayings. In the following years, the city eclipsed triple-digit homicides, showing no true signs of the bloodshed slowing down.
Logically, this would lead one to infer why Reeves has joined President Donald Trump’s campaign to ramp up law enforcement efforts in the nation’s capital when there are glaring issues in the city where the Governor’s Mansion resides. However, Reeves believes he has adequately addressed Jackson’s homicide problem through legislative efforts.
“Short answer – it turns out the Governor of Mississippi can walk and chew gum at the same time! More detailed response recently to an inquiring news outlet – Governor Reeves is proud to support President Trump’s efforts to combat violent crime in Washington,” Reeves wrote in a Thursday afternoon social media post. “The MS National Guard members there all volunteered to go, all are on federal orders, and all will remain so as long as it takes.”
In 2023, Mississippi’s legislature, which has a GOP supermajority in both chambers, passed bills that expanded the state-run Capitol Police force’s jurisdiction in Jackson while also creating an inferior court system to help handle an excess of criminal cases. While both pieces of legislation received pushback from activist groups and some lawmakers, who attributed a prejudiced motive behind the bills, Reeves proudly signed the measures into law.
“Through Capitol Police, the state of Mississippi hired approximately 175 police officers that were put on the streets to fight crime. [Gov. Reeves] supported state investment in hiring more prosecutors at the DA’s office and more public defenders,” Reeves’ communications team said. “He created an inferior court within the CCID and even spoke at the ceremony where Chief Justice Randolph appointed three new judges to those positions.”
Those efforts, per Reeves, aided in Jackson experiencing a sharp downturn in homicides thus far in 2025. A higher police presence in the city, paired with voters electing a new mayor, has instilled a sense of confidence in the governor that Mississippi’s capital is turning a corner and heading in the right direction.
In sum, Reeves deems it unnecessary to deploy Mississippi National Guard troops in Jackson at this time but is not ruling out the prospect of doing so if crime runs rampant and the police are outmanned.
“We no doubt have more work to do, but he has been encouraged by new Mayor [John] Horhn’s public commitment to help and be a positive partner – a stark contrast to his predecessor,” the governor’s camp further stated. “Governor Reeves has been clear that law and order is going to be maintained in Jackson and throughout the state. If he decides it takes deploying the National Guard to do that, he’s certainly not ruling it out.”
