State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), a Trump-endorsed Republican candidate in Tennessee’s newly redrawn 9th Congressional District, said his “Make Memphis Matter” campaign in the Tennessee General Assembly helped bring state and federal attention to Memphis’ crime crisis, including an FBI operation and the creation of the Memphis Safe Task Force.
Taylor discussed his efforts during an exclusive sit-down interview with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, explaining that his decision to run for the State Senate was driven by concerns over rising crime in Memphis and what he described as a lack of accountability for repeat offenders.
“When I ran for the Senate four years ago, crime was out of control in Memphis,” Taylor said. “It didn’t matter what list you looked at, Memphis was always first, second or third on that list.”
He said Memphis was repeatedly ranked among the most dangerous cities in the country and even appeared on international crime rankings.
“And it could be a list about the most dangerous cities in America, it could be the most dangerous cities in the world,” the state senator noted. “I even saw a list one time that had us more dangerous than Baghdad and Mexico City.”
After becoming a state senator, Taylor said his goal was to improve outcomes for Memphis by working at the state and federal levels.
“I wanted to get better outcomes for Memphis,” he said. “And that meant better outcomes from Nashville and better outcomes from Washington, D.C. as well…Tennessee was never able to reach her full potential as long as Memphis was sliding into chaos.”
Taylor said he launched the “Make Memphis Matter” effort after criticizing the policies of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, whom he accused of failing to adequately prosecute criminals.
“So what I started doing was we had elected down there a Soros-funded DA, and he was doing everything he could to not prosecute criminals, which was only exacerbating our crime problem,” he said. “Criminals knew that there were no consequences.”
Taylor said he publicly challenged decisions made by the district attorney and pushed for changes to Tennessee law, including reforms related to bail.
“I literally took him on tooth and nail,” Taylor said. “Nearly every decision he made, I was on the front page of the paper. I was in the media talking about what a dumbass move this was.”
Taylor pointed to a Memphis shooting incident as an example of what he described as failures in the criminal justice system.
“There was a mass shooting in Memphis at a restaurant,” the state senator explained. “And they’d got in a fight over a parking space or something. He went and got a shotgun, shot five people, which qualifies as a mass shooting, and they literally went to court and the judge and the DA let the guy out on his own recognizance without any cash bail.”
Taylor said he worked with lawmakers to change Tennessee’s bail laws.
“I started working, and we passed legislation and got laws enacted that basically end Tennessee’s version of cashless bail,” he said.
Taylor said the reforms ended the use of certain practices for violent offenders.
“We also ended being released on your own recognizance if it’s for a violent crime or you use or display a firearm in the commission of that crime,” he added.
According to Taylor, his public campaign against crime and the district attorney’s policies eventually drew attention from state and federal officials, including U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and federal law enforcement.
“What happened is I started the Make Memphis Matter mantra, and ultimately, it got the attention of Governor Lee, and he sent the state troopers down there,” Taylor said.
Blackburn later contacted him about his efforts, the congressional candidate noted.
“Senator Blackburn called me, and she said, ‘I’ve been watching your Make Memphis Matter effort and your efforts to try to rein in the Soros-backed DA. Can you meet with me and the FBI in Memphis?’” he recalled.
Taylor said the meeting led to Memphis being included in an FBI initiative known as Operation Viper.
“In that meeting with the FBI agents, they said, ‘We had a list of American cities that we’re gonna do an FBI operation, Operation Viper,’” Taylor said.
He added that Blackburn pushed for Memphis to be added to the operation’s list.
“Senator Blackburn insisted that another American city come off and then Memphis go on, and that’s ultimately what they did,” Taylor said.
The congressional candidate said Operation Viper later became a precursor to the Memphis Safe Task Force.
“They sent Operation Viper in. That was the precursor to the Memphis Safe Task Force,” he noted. “They made 500 arrests, and all those were federal charges.”
Taylor said the effort eventually expanded after President Donald Trump became aware of the “Make Memphis Matter” campaign.
“Following Operation Viper, Senator Blackburn then got President Trump’s attention with the Make Memphis Matter effort, and President Trump sent in the Memphis Safe Task Force,” Taylor said.
The task force, which launched in September 2025, has changed the city’s crime landscape, the state senator explained.
“They have literally cut crime in half in Memphis,” Taylor said. “They have changed the public’s perception of crime in Memphis.”
According to Memphis city data, over 16,700 arrests have been made since the launch of the task force, which has resulted in a 41 percent drop in murders, a 31 percent drop in aggravated assaults, 33 percent drop in sexual assaults, a 49 percent drop in burglaries, a 63 percent drop in motor vehicle thefts, and a 39 percent drop in larceny reports during the operational period.
Taylor said his ultimate goal in seeking a congressional seat is to bring the same approach he has used in Memphis to Washington, D.C.
“And that’s the same kinda fight that I wanna take to DC,” he noted.
Early voting for Tennessee’s August 6 primary began July 17 and continues through August 1.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Tennessee National Guard” by Tennessee National Guard.
