September 29, 2025 • 19 mins
This episode I talk about the national guard being in Memphis, know your rights info, actions we've asked Mayor Young to take, and how to protect yourself. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram @Thelawaccordingtoamber for more content.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey guys, and welcome to the Law according to Amber.
Every other Monday, we'll discuss controversial topics with the mixture
of opinion and legal facts. Thus the Law according to Amber.
Be sure to give me a follow on Facebook at
the Law Cording to Amber, as well as Instagram. Same
name the Law according to Amber. What's up, y'all? Welcome
(00:32):
to another episode of the Law according to Amber. This episode,
we're going to talk about the National Guard deployment and
the thirteen other federal agencies are going to be here
as well, what we know so far, and tips to
keep yourself safe. So let's start with what we know
so far. Just as past Friday, Governor Lee came to
Memphis and did a press conference with Mayor Young, the sheriff,
(00:55):
the police chiefs, and other law enforcement officials, talking about
the National Guard being deployed to Memphis, but specifically talking
about the timeline and the approach they want to use
for this Memphis Safe Task Force that President Trump and
the Governor of other folks have set down to create. So
he talked about how while there will be National Guard
(01:18):
troops here, he actually didn't start with that, And I
think it's important that when you're listening to press conferences
that you analyze how and what they say. The governor
specifically said, starting on Monday, there will be thirteen federal
agencies starting to come to the city of Memphis, which
included the National Guard, but it wasn't the first thing
that he named. He talked about the US Marshall Service,
(01:41):
the DEA, which is the Drug enforcement Agency, the ATF
which is alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives. They also talked
about Homeland Security investigations being here as well as ICE,
so immigration enforcement, more federal agents from the FBI, and
we actually have a lot of FBI agenc here already
(02:01):
because this is where the Fifth Circuit is, which is
a court and it's a federal court, and so federal
courts usually have federal agencies. So they've been here for years,
but there's been more appearing over time, and just this
past summer they did a task force operation Operation Viper,
which some folks might have been hearing me referenced in
(02:22):
different press conferences, but Operation Viper included the FBI and
other agencies like Homeland Security, US Marshals, and so they've
been here and already be doing some kind of background
work and already trying to like boost these like crime
numbers to make it seem like them being here is
the most effective thing that's happening, not you know, us
actually receiving the support and resources we need. You know,
(02:45):
why think about that stuff like that's not going to
solve the problem. Sarcasm, of course, but he also went
on to give more details. So the National Guard troops
will not be arresting anyone, and they will not be
carrying guns. They will be deputized by the US Marshals,
and so they'll be assisting the US Marshals and different investigations,
(03:05):
but they themselves, of course won't be leading anything because
they don't actually have the power to do that, which
I've kind of talked a little bit about on my
social media, but just explaining the different types of deployments
and this will be considered a Title thirty two deployment
and other that deployment. They can be deputized by the
US Marshals, for example, but they still can't do the
same exact things that the law enforcement here can do.
(03:29):
And we also had a meeting with Mayor Young Mee,
some other community members, different community orgs, including some of
the Muslim community orgs, some of the Hispanic community orgs,
asking them specific questions about what exactly is going to
be happening, like with the National Guard's here, because there
isn't a lot of information coming out, and when there
(03:50):
isn't a lot of information available, people start making stuff up.
If we're just being honest when there isn't anything there,
people just start making it up because I'm it catches on,
like we were seeing that literally in real time, where
like all these people are freaking out about the National
Guard because folks are sending random text messages and saying
they saw this many people when they aren't even here yet.
(04:12):
And so I was like, well, you need to tell
us what's going on because the people have questions and
I want to make sure we can keep our people safe.
So a few things that Mary Young discussed was that yeah,
they won't be arresting people, similar to what the governor said.
We also asked some questions about checkpoints because I know
people have been talking about vehicle checkpoints, and Mary Young
(04:33):
said that when they met with the National Guard command,
they said that they would follow Memphis Police's lead. So
since the Memphis Police Department doesn't really do a lot
of vehicle checkpoints. It's not really something that they will
be doing, but the governor did say in his press
conference that the State troopers would more than likely be
doing some vehicle checkpoints, and so you might see National
(04:54):
Guard members with the State troopers, and so I think
it's also important to notice the difference between the State
troopers and the Mephis Police department. The Mephis Police Department
have black uniforms. They usually have Myphis police on their cars,
usually white or blue cars. The State troopers are in
like these bay age cars. And the main way to
notice the state trooper versus a regular police officer for
(05:15):
the city is those large hatsets they're wearing, and say
troopers usually are not going to be arresting people, they're
really just giving out tickets. But considering this operation and
that the US Marshals and the National Guard and State
troopers will be working together, I think that it's important
to pay attention to when you see troopers on the street,
(05:36):
So making sure that you're not speeding, that you don't
have anything crazy in your car, just don't carry illegal
things on you because they're going to be looking for
ways to pass you over to the US marshals or
have the National Guard detain you until US marshall gets there.
Because the main thing that they want is federal charges.
That's the main thing they have talked about. That's the
(05:56):
main thing the governor talked about in his press conferences
that they are trying to pack the They're trying to
get as many of these people arrested as possible. And
we know for folks who aren't from Memphis, our jail
system is already overloaded. It takes a very long time
to get out, it takes a very long time to process.
They're using ancient technology, they're still using paper, and so
people's paperwork can get lost like it's just insane. It's
(06:19):
just a it's not a realistic process that doesn't violate
folks rights and also keeps them safe. So that's one
of the main things that I gather from the press
conferences that similar to a Mayor Young said, the MPD
won't really be doing checkpoints, but we probably will see
state troopers doing them, and so just be on the
(06:39):
lookout for that. Another thing that we talked about is,
you know, with ice and more federal agents coming in,
especially Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, which is HSI, which
works in tandem with ICE. We really want to make
sure that community members are able to identify police because
they're driving it on my cars or not wearing uniforms
and they're covering their faces, and so it's very dangerous
(07:01):
and also very dangerous for those officers because people don't
know that they're police, and if they aren't able to
confront their police, they're going to do what they can
to protect themselves because they don't trust the people. And
so if you come to my house and try to
arrest me, or if you stop someone, you know, if
you get pulled over and they try to arrest you,
I understand people being afraid and not trusting that they're
(07:22):
actually the police and so not wanting to go with them.
And so we ask very young specifically what he can do,
and we mentioned, you know, signing an executive order similar
to what Mayor Brandon Johnson put out that stated that
you cannot wear a mask or not have a badge
on you as a federal agent, which includes the National Guard,
US marshalls, you know, all these entities they will be
(07:44):
here HSI that they cannot wear face masks, and cover
their face and not show badges because it's a safety
issue and we want to make sure that our community
members are safe. And the last thing that I want
is someone shooting an officer because they don't know they're
an officer, and it becomes a huge story. And Trump
is able to use these same type of talking points
(08:06):
like he's using in other places about the ice facilities,
So then we have to go, you know, send all
these federal agents here to protect these ice facilities because
the community is dangerous and they're violent. Da da da da.
Like I can just see that propaganda bs planned out already,
So I just think it's very, very important that you know,
we're able to protect folks as much as possible, including
(08:27):
this executive order. The executive order I know has been
written because I actually saw it and read it from
the comms director Penelope, So I really am going to
be pushing the mayor this week to actually get that
signed and put out. And I want to make sure
that I talked about it one on this podcast episode,
but I also be talking about it on social media
because folks should also be doing the same thing and
(08:49):
anyway that we can keep people safe, even with something
as you know, simple as an executive order, we're going
to be pushing for. Another thing that we really asked
about was the directives that the police chief will be
giving to the actual police officers and making sure that
there is a clear directive given to officers about site
and release and so if you're being stopped and it's
(09:11):
a misdemeanor, giving you a citation and a court day
instead of arresting you, because that will help with the
court system and the jail already being so overcrowded. What's
happening right now is that they're getting arrested for any
and everything, no matter what it is, even when it's
something super simple that you really don't have to arrest
you before. And the sheriff has said multiple times to
cite and release people, and the mayor in chief have
(09:33):
said that they are okay with that, but they're not
showing that they're okay with it. Their actions aren't shown
they're okay with it because they still aren't doing it.
And so that's another thing that we were pressuring him
on and asking about. I actually wrote up the directive.
I'm sending it out to a day Today's Monday, as
y'all know my episode shop on Monday, so I'm sending
it in an email today. I'm gonna give them like
a day or two and then I need to hear
(09:55):
something because you know, this is people's lives and safety
on the line. Also, I want just highlight something specific
that the governor said in his press conference. I think
that there has been a major propaganda move here about
the National Guard coming to really scare the hell out
of people and create this mass hysteria, But that was
not what was centered in the actual press conference that
(10:17):
the governor gave. The main thing he talked about are
the presence of state troopers and other federal agencies. Like
I said earlier, I think it's really important to listen
to what people say and how they say it, And
he said that there will be federal agencies in Memphis
starting on Monday, in a phase approach, thirteen federal agencies.
One of the last ones he named was the National Guard.
(10:38):
He also said he doesn't know how many National Guard
members will be here, but what he does know is
that they'll be three hundred State troopers and specifically, he
said there will be one hundred state troopers on the
ground at any time, so they'll be cycling through one
hundred state troopers like per shift to make sure there
are always one hundred state troopers on the ground in Memphis,
and he talked about how this will be a sustained effort,
(11:00):
and so you really need to pay attention to state
troopers because that's the real threat. The real threat are
the state troopers, not the National Guard, who doesn't have
any real power. Staate troopers, on the other hand, have
a lot of power, and they're going to be instrumental
in hoping to get state charges on people that could
be turned into federal charges. And that's on purpose. So
(11:21):
making sure that you're paying attention to your surroundings and
that you know your rights. And I'm also going to
go through some know your rights information for folks who
have not really interacted with federal police agencies before or
state troopers and ways that you can protect yourself. So
let's go into that. Okay, So if you get stopped,
the most important thing to ask is am I free
to go? Just constantly saying am I free to go?
(11:44):
If they say yes, you just walk or you drive away.
If you're questioned, you can say I want to remain
silent because you have a right to remain silent, and
that does not only apply if you're a citizen. Constitutional
rights are constitutional rights no matter your immigration stat If
a federal agent or state trooper asks to search your belongings,
(12:04):
you have the right to say no, and you do
not have to say yes unless there is a warrant.
You can say I do not consent to a search.
And that's just that. You don't have to unlike your
phone or give any government official your password without a warrant.
And for extra security, if I were you, if you're
going to a protest or an event or somewhere where
you know that might be federal agent presents or just
(12:26):
right now, why there's going to be a heightened presence
of federal agents, just take the face id off your
phone and make a longer password option. That way, it's
a little bit harder for someone to get into if
they do try to get into your phone, And if
law enforcement officers arrest you, you have the right to
ask why. And law enforcement officers includes everyone, So that's
(12:47):
the local police, that state troopers, that's federal agents. Everybody
is included under that. They're all considered law enforcement officers.
And you don't need to sign, say, or agree to
anything without a lie you present. You need to consistently
say I want a lawyer, I want to speak to
my lawyer, because you do have a right to that
as well. You also have the right to post and
(13:09):
talk about information that is public anywhere you want. So
if you see stay troopers somewhere, you can take a
picture and post about that because that is true and
lawful information. Now, if you're lying, I wouldn't do that,
but it is not illegal to publicize information. And law
enforcement officers, including the Memphis Police but also federal agency
(13:30):
say troopers all that in some instances will try to
make you feel bad or like scold you or make
you feel as if what you're doing is not lawful
because they don't want to be seen, they don't want
to be posted, you know, just they feel like they
have all this authority and power that they don't necessarily have,
and that they could just hide from the public because
you know, they're the police, so you know, how dare
(13:51):
you take a picture of them? But you have a
right to do that. They aren't like barred from photos
or videos. You can do whatever you want, and as
long as information you're posting you true, You're fine. You
also have the right to tell people that they have
legal rights. So if you see someone, if you're out somewhere,
you can say, hey, you have a right to remain silent.
If you see someone being questioned, you can give them
(14:13):
advice as in like you know, hey, you can invoke
your rights to remain silent. Or you don't have to
sign anything like letting anybody know. You don't have to,
you know, be a lawyer to give people advice about
basic constitutional know your rights information because that's all public knowledge.
You also have the right to film and video the police.
(14:35):
But it's important to just note that Tennessee does have
a law, the Peace Act that just passed that says
that you cannot record police officers within twenty five feet
if they tell you to move. And so if you're
out somewhere and you see officers, you can record them,
you can take pictures, do whatever you want. If they
tell you to move, then you do have to move
(14:56):
up to twenty five feet away, but that's only if
they tell you. So if they don't say anything to you,
if you're filming and you don't say anything about the
twenty five feet then you're fine, and I will suggest
just not saying anything, just filming, making sure that you
have the information you need that you can post, and
then moving on. Also, law enforcement officials that includes the
(15:17):
federal agents and military troops can't confiscate or demand to
view any photographs or videos that you've taken without a warrant,
and they cannot delete data under any circumstances. And so
if they have your phone for some reason it's unlocked
and try to delete things, that's also illegal. Lastly, you
can ask for an officers name and badge number, and
(15:38):
you can also ask who to call if there are
follow up questions, or who their supervisor is, and you
can even ask to speak to a supervisor. I hope
that Know your Rights information was helpful. I do also
want to talk a little bit about safety and protecting yourselves,
because one thing that the governor mentioned in his press
conference was about surveillance. And I've talked a little bit
(15:58):
about how these federal agencies are masters of surveillance. And
also we have a kindred consent decree here in Memphis
that's specific to Memphis because of surveillance that was done
by the police department when Vietnam War activists and MKA
Junior were here. They did very invasive surveillance of them,
(16:20):
and that particular type of surveillance is unconstitutional and was
found to be unconstitutional, and the Kindred Consent Decree was formed,
and that was in nineteen seventy eight. The consent decree
said that the Memphis Police Department cannot surveil organizers, activists, figureheads, anybody,
they cannot surveil us. And also it was amended to
(16:44):
include social media in twenty twenty and twenty twenty one
after the ACLU sued again, So that includes your social
media as well. So MPD is barred from sharing First
Amendment related intelligence with federal agencies. And that it also
includes who's coordinating surveillance of political demonstrations or lawful gatherings
with the National Guard or any of these federal agencies
(17:06):
that are coming providing federal forces with access to the
city's surveillance system to gather political intelligence and bypassing require
authorization for investigations to collect information about constitutional activities such
as HSI or homeland security investigations, trying to bypass authorization
to get a warrant so they could then investigate that
(17:28):
person and arrest them or detain them. The ACLU Tennessee
since an updated letter just this past week about these
federal agencies come into town and how the mayor of
Memphis and the police chiefs need to take action and
put together a directive about this so that the police
officers know not to violate the consent decree and what
(17:48):
they could include, and they need to have protocols written
up in place of how they're going to be handling
these federal agencies that don't violate our First Amendment related
rights around surveillance. They haven't responded yet about it, but
I actually made a video that ipupposed the last Friday
because I want to make sure that people knew what
their rights were under the Kinder Content Decree, and I
(18:08):
also want to highlight how important it was that there
are some clear directions and protocols given to these federal agencies,
because if you don't, they'll just come in and do
whatever they want, and that's going to be issue. I
hope this has really been helpful and kind of explaining
what exactly is happening here, how we can keep ourselves safe.
And then also there is an Instagram page that just
(18:31):
launched this past week called Free the nine on one.
It's free Underscore the nine on one, and it's a
campaign of different coalition orgs here in Memphis who are
working to make sure that community members have as much
community safety information. They have safe places they can go,
they have a place they can get accurate, verified information,
because there is just so much out there that's just
(18:52):
not true and that people are just putting together for
clickbait and likes because they just, you know, like the attention.
And so this group has together this campaign to specifically
make sure that Mephians have what they need while we're
dealing with this authoritarian, fascist regime. They also have a
Facebook page which is Free the nine on one that
(19:13):
y'all can go to for updates. You can also text
free nine on one fr ee nine on one to
two five two two five to get updates on the campaign.
So make sure you're tapped in there so that you
know what what exactly is happening in Memphis right now,
because I know there's a lot of questions and a
lot of fear, and I really want to try to
quell that as much as possible. All Right, y'all, thank
(19:36):
y'all for tuning in to another episode of the log
cording to Amber. As always, be sure to follow me
on Facebook and Instagram, same name. The law cording to
Amber Peace
Hey guys, and welcome to the Law according to Amber.
Every other Monday, we'll discuss controversial topics with the mixture
of opinion and legal facts. Thus the Law according to Amber.
Be sure to give me a follow on Facebook at
the Law Cording to Amber, as well as Instagram. Same
name the Law according to Amber. What's up, y'all? Welcome
(00:32):
to another episode of the Law according to Amber. This episode,
we're going to talk about the National Guard deployment and
the thirteen other federal agencies are going to be here
as well, what we know so far, and tips to
keep yourself safe. So let's start with what we know
so far. Just as past Friday, Governor Lee came to
Memphis and did a press conference with Mayor Young, the sheriff,
(00:55):
the police chiefs, and other law enforcement officials, talking about
the National Guard being deployed to Memphis, but specifically talking
about the timeline and the approach they want to use
for this Memphis Safe Task Force that President Trump and
the Governor of other folks have set down to create. So
he talked about how while there will be National Guard
(01:18):
troops here, he actually didn't start with that, And I
think it's important that when you're listening to press conferences
that you analyze how and what they say. The governor
specifically said, starting on Monday, there will be thirteen federal
agencies starting to come to the city of Memphis, which
included the National Guard, but it wasn't the first thing
that he named. He talked about the US Marshall Service,
(01:41):
the DEA, which is the Drug enforcement Agency, the ATF
which is alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives. They also talked
about Homeland Security investigations being here as well as ICE,
so immigration enforcement, more federal agents from the FBI, and
we actually have a lot of FBI agenc here already
(02:01):
because this is where the Fifth Circuit is, which is
a court and it's a federal court, and so federal
courts usually have federal agencies. So they've been here for years,
but there's been more appearing over time, and just this
past summer they did a task force operation Operation Viper,
which some folks might have been hearing me referenced in
(02:22):
different press conferences, but Operation Viper included the FBI and
other agencies like Homeland Security, US Marshals, and so they've
been here and already be doing some kind of background
work and already trying to like boost these like crime
numbers to make it seem like them being here is
the most effective thing that's happening, not you know, us
actually receiving the support and resources we need. You know,
(02:45):
why think about that stuff like that's not going to
solve the problem. Sarcasm, of course, but he also went
on to give more details. So the National Guard troops
will not be arresting anyone, and they will not be
carrying guns. They will be deputized by the US Marshals,
and so they'll be assisting the US Marshals and different investigations,
(03:05):
but they themselves, of course won't be leading anything because
they don't actually have the power to do that, which
I've kind of talked a little bit about on my
social media, but just explaining the different types of deployments
and this will be considered a Title thirty two deployment
and other that deployment. They can be deputized by the
US Marshals, for example, but they still can't do the
same exact things that the law enforcement here can do.
(03:29):
And we also had a meeting with Mayor Young Mee,
some other community members, different community orgs, including some of
the Muslim community orgs, some of the Hispanic community orgs,
asking them specific questions about what exactly is going to
be happening, like with the National Guard's here, because there
isn't a lot of information coming out, and when there
(03:50):
isn't a lot of information available, people start making stuff up.
If we're just being honest when there isn't anything there,
people just start making it up because I'm it catches on,
like we were seeing that literally in real time, where
like all these people are freaking out about the National
Guard because folks are sending random text messages and saying
they saw this many people when they aren't even here yet.
(04:12):
And so I was like, well, you need to tell
us what's going on because the people have questions and
I want to make sure we can keep our people safe.
So a few things that Mary Young discussed was that yeah,
they won't be arresting people, similar to what the governor said.
We also asked some questions about checkpoints because I know
people have been talking about vehicle checkpoints, and Mary Young
(04:33):
said that when they met with the National Guard command,
they said that they would follow Memphis Police's lead. So
since the Memphis Police Department doesn't really do a lot
of vehicle checkpoints. It's not really something that they will
be doing, but the governor did say in his press
conference that the State troopers would more than likely be
doing some vehicle checkpoints, and so you might see National
(04:54):
Guard members with the State troopers, and so I think
it's also important to notice the difference between the State
troopers and the Mephis Police department. The Mephis Police Department
have black uniforms. They usually have Myphis police on their cars,
usually white or blue cars. The State troopers are in
like these bay age cars. And the main way to
notice the state trooper versus a regular police officer for
(05:15):
the city is those large hatsets they're wearing, and say
troopers usually are not going to be arresting people, they're
really just giving out tickets. But considering this operation and
that the US Marshals and the National Guard and State
troopers will be working together, I think that it's important
to pay attention to when you see troopers on the street,
(05:36):
So making sure that you're not speeding, that you don't
have anything crazy in your car, just don't carry illegal
things on you because they're going to be looking for
ways to pass you over to the US marshals or
have the National Guard detain you until US marshall gets there.
Because the main thing that they want is federal charges.
That's the main thing they have talked about. That's the
(05:56):
main thing the governor talked about in his press conferences
that they are trying to pack the They're trying to
get as many of these people arrested as possible. And
we know for folks who aren't from Memphis, our jail
system is already overloaded. It takes a very long time
to get out, it takes a very long time to process.
They're using ancient technology, they're still using paper, and so
people's paperwork can get lost like it's just insane. It's
(06:19):
just a it's not a realistic process that doesn't violate
folks rights and also keeps them safe. So that's one
of the main things that I gather from the press
conferences that similar to a Mayor Young said, the MPD
won't really be doing checkpoints, but we probably will see
state troopers doing them, and so just be on the
(06:39):
lookout for that. Another thing that we talked about is,
you know, with ice and more federal agents coming in,
especially Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, which is HSI, which
works in tandem with ICE. We really want to make
sure that community members are able to identify police because
they're driving it on my cars or not wearing uniforms
and they're covering their faces, and so it's very dangerous
(07:01):
and also very dangerous for those officers because people don't
know that they're police, and if they aren't able to
confront their police, they're going to do what they can
to protect themselves because they don't trust the people. And
so if you come to my house and try to
arrest me, or if you stop someone, you know, if
you get pulled over and they try to arrest you,
I understand people being afraid and not trusting that they're
(07:22):
actually the police and so not wanting to go with them.
And so we ask very young specifically what he can do,
and we mentioned, you know, signing an executive order similar
to what Mayor Brandon Johnson put out that stated that
you cannot wear a mask or not have a badge
on you as a federal agent, which includes the National Guard,
US marshalls, you know, all these entities they will be
(07:44):
here HSI that they cannot wear face masks, and cover
their face and not show badges because it's a safety
issue and we want to make sure that our community
members are safe. And the last thing that I want
is someone shooting an officer because they don't know they're
an officer, and it becomes a huge story. And Trump
is able to use these same type of talking points
(08:06):
like he's using in other places about the ice facilities,
So then we have to go, you know, send all
these federal agents here to protect these ice facilities because
the community is dangerous and they're violent. Da da da da.
Like I can just see that propaganda bs planned out already,
So I just think it's very, very important that you know,
we're able to protect folks as much as possible, including
(08:27):
this executive order. The executive order I know has been
written because I actually saw it and read it from
the comms director Penelope, So I really am going to
be pushing the mayor this week to actually get that
signed and put out. And I want to make sure
that I talked about it one on this podcast episode,
but I also be talking about it on social media
because folks should also be doing the same thing and
(08:49):
anyway that we can keep people safe, even with something
as you know, simple as an executive order, we're going
to be pushing for. Another thing that we really asked
about was the directives that the police chief will be
giving to the actual police officers and making sure that
there is a clear directive given to officers about site
and release and so if you're being stopped and it's
(09:11):
a misdemeanor, giving you a citation and a court day
instead of arresting you, because that will help with the
court system and the jail already being so overcrowded. What's
happening right now is that they're getting arrested for any
and everything, no matter what it is, even when it's
something super simple that you really don't have to arrest
you before. And the sheriff has said multiple times to
cite and release people, and the mayor in chief have
(09:33):
said that they are okay with that, but they're not
showing that they're okay with it. Their actions aren't shown
they're okay with it because they still aren't doing it.
And so that's another thing that we were pressuring him
on and asking about. I actually wrote up the directive.
I'm sending it out to a day Today's Monday, as
y'all know my episode shop on Monday, so I'm sending
it in an email today. I'm gonna give them like
a day or two and then I need to hear
(09:55):
something because you know, this is people's lives and safety
on the line. Also, I want just highlight something specific
that the governor said in his press conference. I think
that there has been a major propaganda move here about
the National Guard coming to really scare the hell out
of people and create this mass hysteria, But that was
not what was centered in the actual press conference that
(10:17):
the governor gave. The main thing he talked about are
the presence of state troopers and other federal agencies. Like
I said earlier, I think it's really important to listen
to what people say and how they say it, And
he said that there will be federal agencies in Memphis
starting on Monday, in a phase approach, thirteen federal agencies.
One of the last ones he named was the National Guard.
(10:38):
He also said he doesn't know how many National Guard
members will be here, but what he does know is
that they'll be three hundred State troopers and specifically, he
said there will be one hundred state troopers on the
ground at any time, so they'll be cycling through one
hundred state troopers like per shift to make sure there
are always one hundred state troopers on the ground in Memphis,
and he talked about how this will be a sustained effort,
(11:00):
and so you really need to pay attention to state
troopers because that's the real threat. The real threat are
the state troopers, not the National Guard, who doesn't have
any real power. Staate troopers, on the other hand, have
a lot of power, and they're going to be instrumental
in hoping to get state charges on people that could
be turned into federal charges. And that's on purpose. So
(11:21):
making sure that you're paying attention to your surroundings and
that you know your rights. And I'm also going to
go through some know your rights information for folks who
have not really interacted with federal police agencies before or
state troopers and ways that you can protect yourself. So
let's go into that. Okay, So if you get stopped,
the most important thing to ask is am I free
to go? Just constantly saying am I free to go?
(11:44):
If they say yes, you just walk or you drive away.
If you're questioned, you can say I want to remain
silent because you have a right to remain silent, and
that does not only apply if you're a citizen. Constitutional
rights are constitutional rights no matter your immigration stat If
a federal agent or state trooper asks to search your belongings,
(12:04):
you have the right to say no, and you do
not have to say yes unless there is a warrant.
You can say I do not consent to a search.
And that's just that. You don't have to unlike your
phone or give any government official your password without a warrant.
And for extra security, if I were you, if you're
going to a protest or an event or somewhere where
you know that might be federal agent presents or just
(12:26):
right now, why there's going to be a heightened presence
of federal agents, just take the face id off your
phone and make a longer password option. That way, it's
a little bit harder for someone to get into if
they do try to get into your phone, And if
law enforcement officers arrest you, you have the right to
ask why. And law enforcement officers includes everyone, So that's
(12:47):
the local police, that state troopers, that's federal agents. Everybody
is included under that. They're all considered law enforcement officers.
And you don't need to sign, say, or agree to
anything without a lie you present. You need to consistently
say I want a lawyer, I want to speak to
my lawyer, because you do have a right to that
as well. You also have the right to post and
(13:09):
talk about information that is public anywhere you want. So
if you see stay troopers somewhere, you can take a
picture and post about that because that is true and
lawful information. Now, if you're lying, I wouldn't do that,
but it is not illegal to publicize information. And law
enforcement officers, including the Memphis Police but also federal agency
(13:30):
say troopers all that in some instances will try to
make you feel bad or like scold you or make
you feel as if what you're doing is not lawful
because they don't want to be seen, they don't want
to be posted, you know, just they feel like they
have all this authority and power that they don't necessarily have,
and that they could just hide from the public because
you know, they're the police, so you know, how dare
(13:51):
you take a picture of them? But you have a
right to do that. They aren't like barred from photos
or videos. You can do whatever you want, and as
long as information you're posting you true, You're fine. You
also have the right to tell people that they have
legal rights. So if you see someone, if you're out somewhere,
you can say, hey, you have a right to remain silent.
If you see someone being questioned, you can give them
(14:13):
advice as in like you know, hey, you can invoke
your rights to remain silent. Or you don't have to
sign anything like letting anybody know. You don't have to,
you know, be a lawyer to give people advice about
basic constitutional know your rights information because that's all public knowledge.
You also have the right to film and video the police.
(14:35):
But it's important to just note that Tennessee does have
a law, the Peace Act that just passed that says
that you cannot record police officers within twenty five feet
if they tell you to move. And so if you're
out somewhere and you see officers, you can record them,
you can take pictures, do whatever you want. If they
tell you to move, then you do have to move
(14:56):
up to twenty five feet away, but that's only if
they tell you. So if they don't say anything to you,
if you're filming and you don't say anything about the
twenty five feet then you're fine, and I will suggest
just not saying anything, just filming, making sure that you
have the information you need that you can post, and
then moving on. Also, law enforcement officials that includes the
(15:17):
federal agents and military troops can't confiscate or demand to
view any photographs or videos that you've taken without a warrant,
and they cannot delete data under any circumstances. And so
if they have your phone for some reason it's unlocked
and try to delete things, that's also illegal. Lastly, you
can ask for an officers name and badge number, and
(15:38):
you can also ask who to call if there are
follow up questions, or who their supervisor is, and you
can even ask to speak to a supervisor. I hope
that Know your Rights information was helpful. I do also
want to talk a little bit about safety and protecting yourselves,
because one thing that the governor mentioned in his press
conference was about surveillance. And I've talked a little bit
(15:58):
about how these federal agencies are masters of surveillance. And
also we have a kindred consent decree here in Memphis
that's specific to Memphis because of surveillance that was done
by the police department when Vietnam War activists and MKA
Junior were here. They did very invasive surveillance of them,
(16:20):
and that particular type of surveillance is unconstitutional and was
found to be unconstitutional, and the Kindred Consent Decree was formed,
and that was in nineteen seventy eight. The consent decree
said that the Memphis Police Department cannot surveil organizers, activists, figureheads, anybody,
they cannot surveil us. And also it was amended to
(16:44):
include social media in twenty twenty and twenty twenty one
after the ACLU sued again, So that includes your social
media as well. So MPD is barred from sharing First
Amendment related intelligence with federal agencies. And that it also
includes who's coordinating surveillance of political demonstrations or lawful gatherings
with the National Guard or any of these federal agencies
(17:06):
that are coming providing federal forces with access to the
city's surveillance system to gather political intelligence and bypassing require
authorization for investigations to collect information about constitutional activities such
as HSI or homeland security investigations, trying to bypass authorization
to get a warrant so they could then investigate that
(17:28):
person and arrest them or detain them. The ACLU Tennessee
since an updated letter just this past week about these
federal agencies come into town and how the mayor of
Memphis and the police chiefs need to take action and
put together a directive about this so that the police
officers know not to violate the consent decree and what
(17:48):
they could include, and they need to have protocols written
up in place of how they're going to be handling
these federal agencies that don't violate our First Amendment related
rights around surveillance. They haven't responded yet about it, but
I actually made a video that ipupposed the last Friday
because I want to make sure that people knew what
their rights were under the Kinder Content Decree, and I
(18:08):
also want to highlight how important it was that there
are some clear directions and protocols given to these federal agencies,
because if you don't, they'll just come in and do
whatever they want, and that's going to be issue. I
hope this has really been helpful and kind of explaining
what exactly is happening here, how we can keep ourselves safe.
And then also there is an Instagram page that just
(18:31):
launched this past week called Free the nine on one.
It's free Underscore the nine on one, and it's a
campaign of different coalition orgs here in Memphis who are
working to make sure that community members have as much
community safety information. They have safe places they can go,
they have a place they can get accurate, verified information,
because there is just so much out there that's just
(18:52):
not true and that people are just putting together for
clickbait and likes because they just, you know, like the attention.
And so this group has together this campaign to specifically
make sure that Mephians have what they need while we're
dealing with this authoritarian, fascist regime. They also have a
Facebook page which is Free the nine on one that
(19:13):
y'all can go to for updates. You can also text
free nine on one fr ee nine on one to
two five two two five to get updates on the campaign.
So make sure you're tapped in there so that you
know what what exactly is happening in Memphis right now,
because I know there's a lot of questions and a
lot of fear, and I really want to try to
quell that as much as possible. All Right, y'all, thank
(19:36):
y'all for tuning in to another episode of the log
cording to Amber. As always, be sure to follow me
on Facebook and Instagram, same name. The law cording to
Amber Peace
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