The Washington Post has obtained leaked Pentagon documents displaying plans to deploy 1000 Louisiana National Guard troops to cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The goal of this deployment is to reduce crime rates in these two major Louisiana cities. The government believes that sending the National Guard into cities will resolve the issue.

However, some residents raised concerns that this could potentially violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts military involvement within civilian law enforcement.

In addition to reducing individual crime rates, another goal of this plan would be to disrupt larger-scale drug trafficking networks.

The documents are verified as official government documents; However, they fail to indicate when troops could arrive in the two cities.

Without permission from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, this plan cannot proceed. Landry told WDSU that he is “on board” with Trump’s plan to deploy these troops. Attorney General Liz Murrill released a statement on X saying that she “fully supports President Trump’s idea to send us additional resources to help fight crime- not just in New Orleans but across the state.”

The troops would be under Landry’s control but funded with federal dollars. The National Guard has not yet received any official orders to take action. Therefore, Louisiana would not be paying for these services, so some view this as a long-term beneficial system for New Orleans.

Both state and federal authorities have yet to release an official statement. Updates are expected as this story develops