Source: Washington Post
“Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has requested federal assistance to deploy National Guard troops to combat crime in urban centers throughout the state, weeks after President Donald Trump floated the possibility of sending troops to New Orleans. In a letter dated Monday, Landry asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for as many as 1,000 troops to be mobilized in Louisiana until September 2026, citing ‘elevated violent crime rates’ in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport …. In New Orleans … crime rates have decreased significantly this year. After a pandemic-era spike in killings, the city’s murder rate has fallen to lows not seen since the 1970s. In Baton Rouge, the city’s crime data on Tuesday showed slightly fewer homicides this year than the previous year, while the number of felony arrests so far this year was 13.5 percent lower than it was this time last year.” (09/30/25)