Alarm bells are being rung in the Capitol over the withdrawal of a legal opinion from 2021 that suggests use of the National Guard in Tennessee for crime-fighting would violate the Tennessee Constitution.

The opinion, written by former Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, was withdrawn April 19, 2024, without much, if any, public notice.

At a Sept. 30 news conference, Tennessee Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, said the withdrawn opinion suggests the upcoming deployment of National Guard troops to Memphis this week would be unconstitutional.

"That is not just reckless, but seemingly lawless," Yarbro said about the deployment of troops to Memphis.

Yarbro called withdrawing the opinion "scrubbing the historical record."

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti told The Tennessean the opin

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