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The National Rifle Association and its ex-CEO Wayne LaPierre were found liable for misspending millions of dollars on lavish perks.
A New York Jury on Friday found that LaPierre, who steered the NRA for three decades, used charitable funds to pay for exotic vacations, excursions on private jets, and superyachts, and ordered him to pay back $5.4 million, minus what he had already reimbursed the group, which they calculated at just over than $1 million. Jurors also found that the gun-rights group omitted or misrepresented information in its tax filings and broke state law by failing to adopt a whistleblower policy, according to the Associated Press. In addition to the NRA and LaPierre, two other executives were found liable for violating state charity laws.
In a statement issue Friday, NRA President Charles Cotton said, “NRA members should be heartened by the NRA’s commitment to best practices, and we will continue to amplify our compliance record in the pivotal next phase of these proceedings. To the extent there were control violations, they were acted upon immediately by the NRA Board beginning in summer 2018.”
New York Attorney General Letitiafiled a lawsuitagainst the NRA in 2020, alleging that LaPierre and other leaders at the organization had engaged in “illegal conduct because of their diversion of millions of dollars away from the charitable mission of the organization for personal use by senior leadership.” The suit sought the full dissolution of the NRA, as well as restitution payments for violations of New York tax laws.
Last month, LaPierre announced that he was resigning from the NRA days before the organization was scheduled to stand trial on civil corruption charges in New York.
James called the verdict a “major victory,” writing on X/Twitter that “Wayne LaPierre blatantly abused his position and broke the law.But today, LaPierre and the NRA are finally being held accountable for this rampant corruption and self-dealing.”
She continued, “In New York, you cannot get away with corruption and greed, no matter how powerful or influential you think you may be.Everyone, even the NRA and Wayne LaPierre, must play by the same rules.
John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, responded to the verdict on Friday.“The NRA has faced a string of defeats this year alone, from the resignation of longtime CEO Wayne LaPierre to a trial that shed light on chaos and corruption within the organization,” he said in a statement. “We’ve spent the last 10 years fighting to expose the NRA’s role in our nation’s gun violence crisis, and it’s working — they’ve never been weaker, and their political relevance is at an all-time low heading into the 2024 elections.”
This article was updated at 12:23 a.m. E.T. on Feb, 24, to include statements from NRA President Charles Cotton and Everytown President John Feinblatt.
