Metro Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Friday said it was “absurd” for U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) to comment on the violent crime rate in Nashville, where FBI data reportedly ranked it among the 10 American cities with the highest violent crime rate. Ogles accused the mayor of being “asleep on the job” and called for the Tennessee National Guard to be deployed in the city.
Ogles made the remarks after President Donald Trump said he would consider deploying the National Guard to Memphis following his administration’s success at reducing crime in Washington, D.C., urging the president, “send them to Nashville,” in a post to the social media platform X.
“Comrade O’Connell is using the city as an outpost for international gangs to set up shop in our neighborhoods,” wrote Ogles in the post.
We don’t just need the National Guard in Memphis, send them to Nashville. Comrade O'Connell is using the city as an outpost for international gangs to set up shop in our neighborhoods.
Punish criminals and the Mayors who work for them.
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) September 3, 2025
After first stating that statistics show crime is down in Nashville, the mayor responded during his weekly media briefing on Friday, when he noted that Ogles remains under investigation over issues with his campaign filings, and accused him of “showing off for the president so he can get a pardon.”
The mayor then stated, “This is somebody who is involved in a political race in his own but seems more invested in a city he neither has an office in nor lives in,” and said his remarks about crime in Nashville were “absurd,” and urged the media to “ask him about where he’s getting alternative data.”
Ogles made his remarks about crime in Nashville just one day after WKRN reported that FBI crime statistics showed Nashville’s violent crime rate ranked eighth in the country, with 1,124 violent crimes per 100,000 people.
Memphis ranked number one, and President Donald Trump recently said he would deploy the National Guard to the city in a recent radio interview.
O’Connell said on Friday that his administration has not requested the National Guard.
“We have not requested them, Chief Drake has not requested them, our Metro Nashville Police Department has not requested their presence,” said the mayor. “I think we are continuing to make progress in year-over-year reductions in crime. We’re going to focus on those local efforts with trusted community partners.”
Ogles’ comments come after he helped launch a congressional probe into the mayor’s office, which was sparked after O’Connell was accused of doxxing federal immigration authorities whose names were released in compliance with an executive order he modified following the immigration enforcement operation that saw nearly 200 illegal immigrants in May.
Watch the mayor’s full remarks:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Freddie O’Connell” by Fox17.
Since Freddie can’t see the problems and crime in Nashville, he should be replaced.
Hello Ice? Please come back to Nashville. We need a new mayor quickly.
In Tennessee (and most of the other high crime cities on the list) which political party is in control? As has been pointed out so many times, democrats are more concerned about not hurting the feelings of criminals than they are for the victims of these violent attacks.
The democratic party is in the toilet (where it belongs) due to issues like this, and they are too damn stupid to figure it out. We as LEGAL Americans are so fortunate that we have the Second Amendment with our right to carry firearms for protection from these criminals.
The old axiom comes to mind: Who do you believe, me or your lying eyes? Certainly not Comrade Freddie.