The Department of War extended the deployment of 120 Louisiana National Guard troops in New Orleans through August, Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) announced Monday.
President Donald Trump first deployed 350 Guard members in late December to support local law enforcement as the city expected large numbers of tourists visiting for New Year’s, the Sugar Bowl, and the Mardi Gras carnival season. Landry, a close Trump ally, requested the deployment of the National Guard last September, saying his state “desperately” needed the action.
The National Guard deployment is “going to help us further crack down on the violence here in the city of New Orleans and elsewhere around Louisiana,” Landry said.
City data show violent crime has significantly declined over the past three years. The troops were set to depart following Mardi Gras celebrations in February.
According to a press statement from the Louisiana National Guard, guard members will continue to “bolster law enforcement efforts during upcoming festivals and events and ensure a daily presence to safeguard the city from crime.”
While the statement did not specify which events they referred to, visitors are expected to flock to the city for spring events such as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
“The continued deployment will help us combat violence in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana,” Landry wrote on X on Monday. He has not indicated where else in the state the National Guard may go.
During his State of the Union address, Trump said the deployment in New Orleans was a “big success.” Violent crime in New Orleans declined for a third consecutive year in 2025, according to figures released less than a week after the troop deployment.
Democratic New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, who initially opposed the deployment, expressed her gratitude for the National Guard presence. “Strategic deployment of federal resources for major events has made a meaningful difference,” she said in a press release. Both Moreno and New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick strongly supported the extension.
New Orleans District Attorney Jason Rogers Williams said in a press conference in early January that the homicide rate is the lowest in 50 years. “We’ve had three years of sustained public safety success, but this is not the time to wave a victory flag; this is a time to take stock and ensure that we don’t backslide,” Williams said.
Overall crime in New Orleans dropped by 50% over the past three years. The city’s new initiative, Operation NOLA Safe, brings federal, state, and local partners together to focus resources on identified violent offenders and hot spots.
“Having detectives, investigators, agents paired with the National Guard means there’s an actual investigation of the crime so that we have something to prosecute,” Williams said.
“A big guy or a woman with camouflage and a rifle — that’s a presence,” Williams added. “But that’s not going to produce a police report that can lead to an investigation that actually holds someone accountable.”
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The federal government is fully funding the extended deployment. Specific numbers for New Orleans have not been announced.
It is currently unclear which benchmarks will determine if the deployment is working or when the extension will end.
