KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee was in Knoxville Thursday morning for a Chamber of Commerce breakfast, where he discussed the state's recovery from Helene and the decision to bring the National Guard to Memphis.

Lee talked about the steps taken ahead of bringing in the National Guard because he is "tired of Memphis being held back by the crime issue."

"It started months ago," Lee said. "We worked with the FBI and Director (Kash) Patel to develop a comprehensive plan for Memphis and he came to the Capitol in Nashville, Director Patel, we talked specifically about the challenge, the issue, the problem and how we should attack it for the next couple of months."

Lee said the strategy was turned into something called "Operation Viper," which brought in agencies from all over

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