Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a conservative rally on June 18 in Southaven, Miss., about a 20 minute drive south of Memphis, Tenn., but two city council members tried to prevent the police department from escorting Trump to the rally.
However, the vote fell short on Tuesday as the Memphis City Council voted 4-4-2 against the proposed resolution, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Councilmen JB Smiley, Jr. and Martavius Jones presented a resolution on Tuesday that requested the Memphis Police Department would decline escorting Trump to the rally at the end of the month.
The councilmen argued that due to a shortage of police officers, it wouldn't be a proper use of police force or taxpayer dollars to escort Trump to the rally.
Jones told local NBC affiliate station WMC-TV on June 3 that the reasons for not wanting to give Trump a police escort are financial. He claimed that Trump has a history of not paying for local police protection.
"He’s notorious for not paying," Jones said. "When you talk about these rallies, there are huge expenses that various jurisdictions have to pay, and these expenditures are not being reimbursed by the Trump campaign or Trump organization."
"He’s no longer the president. He has a Secret Service detail, I think that’s sufficient," Smiley added.
The city of El Paso, Texas told KXAN last month that Trump has still not paid the roughly $570,000 he owes from a re-election campaign rally from 2019. Overall, Trump reportedly owes nearly $2 million to 14 different cities for providing him police protection at his rallies over the past few years.
Despite the resolution not passing, the Memphis Police Department confirmed to the Commercial Appeal on Tuesday that they have not been requested to provide security for the rally on June 18. MPD Chief CJ Davis said at the council meeting that if they were to provide security, their responsibility would end when they reach the city's jurisdictional border.
"We will assist in our jurisdiction," Davis said. "It's understood that the jurisdiction will support whether its the sitting president, the first lady, or the former president."
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