National Rifle Association CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre addresses the NRA convention in Indianapolis in April.
Darron Cummings/AP
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Darron Cummings/AP
National Rifle Association CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre addresses the NRA convention in Indianapolis in April.
Darron Cummings/AP
The longtime leader of what was once the nation’s most powerful gun rights group is leaving his post days before the start of a civil trial on charges of corruption and mismanagement.
Wayne LaPierre stepped down as he and other former NRA officials were accused of embezzling millions from nonprofits to bankroll a lavish lifestyle that included private jets, luxury vacations, and expensive meals. LaPierre has denied those allegations in a New York court.
In a statement Friday, NRA President Charles Cotton said LaPierre, who is 74, was resigning for health reasons. The gun group says it will continue to defend itself in the lawsuit brought by New York state.
LaPierre will leave his post at the end of the month.
“Proud of what we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA,” LaPierre said in a statement on the NRA’s website.
“I have been a card-carrying member of this organization for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to protect Second Amendment freedoms. My passion for our cause is as strong as ever.” It’s deep.”
In response to the news of LaPierre’s impending departure, New York Attorney General Letitia James called the end of the Wayne LaPierre era “a significant victory”, but vowed to continue the legal case against the gun rights lobby.
“LaPierre’s resignation validates our claims against him, but it will not shield him or the NRA from accountability,” James said in a statement. “All charities in New York State must abide by the rule of law, and my office will not tolerate gross mismanagement or top executives pocketing millions,” she said. “Our case will move forward, And we look forward to proving the facts in court.”
The trial is scheduled to begin on Monday. James’ lawsuit aims to ban LaPierre and other executives from serving in leadership positions at any nonprofit or charitable organization doing business in New York.
For more than three decades LaPierre has shaped the NRA’s tough stance against nearly every effort to regulate firearms, even in the face of the horrific mass shootings at schools and malls that have occurred in the U.S. Have become a painful routine.
He took control of the NRA leadership in 1991, warning that “jack-booted government thugs” were coming after the guns of law-abiding Americans under the guise of controlling gun violence. He later criticized those supporting gun control measures in the wake of mass shootings as “opportunists” who “exploit tragedy for profit.”
LaPierre played a leading role in expanding the power and influence of the NRA as a lobbying and political force. He enlisted celebrities, including movie star Charlton Heston, to make a powerful, emotional appeal that any effort to limit gun ownership and sales is an unconstitutional violation of Second Amendment rights.
In 2000, Heston, who was then president of the NRA in a largely ceremonial role, told NRA convention-goers that Democrats and other gun control supporters were the enemies of freedom. Smiling near LaPierre, Heston then raised a replica flintlock long rifle above his head and proclaimed what would become a popular five-word NRA slogan in the LaPierre era: “By my cold, dead hands!”
But in recent years the NRA has been hit by financial problems, declining membership and ongoing questions about LaPierre’s leadership and spending. The turmoil alienated some long-serving members as concerns grew about the direction of the organization.
The group’s financial problems forced it to cut many popular programs, including educational outreach, law enforcement initiatives, and support for shooting sporting events.
An NRA attempt to declare bankruptcy failed in 2021. A federal bankruptcy judge dismissed the case, saying the gun rights group had not filed it in good faith.
