MANHATTAN (CN) — Wayne LaPierre, the controversial CEO of the National Rifle Association, is stepping down from his position, the organization announced Friday.
“With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA,” LaPierre said in a statement released by the group. “I’ve 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 defend Second Amendment freedom. My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever."
LaPierre cited “health reasons” as a reason for his resignation, according to the NRA. Andrew Arulanandam, NRA executive and LaPierre’s longtime spokesperson, will take over as the interim CEO and executive vice president starting Jan. 31.
The news comes just days before the NRA and LaPierre face a corruption trial in New York City that experts have called "existential" to the group's future.
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the NRA, LaPierre and three other group executives in 2020, accusing them of misappropriating the nonprofit’s cash to finance vacations and other luxury goods.
In her 169-page complaint, James claimed that LaPierre used the NRA as his “personal piggy bank,” using donor funds to take gaudy African safaris and trips to the Bahamas. The organization’s “culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight” under LaPierre’s rule violates numerous state nonprofit laws, according to James.
James on Friday called LaPierre’s resignation an “important victory in our case,” but clarified that her office will continue the push to hold him accountable.
“LaPierre's resignation validates our claims against him, but it will not insulate him or the NRA from accountability,” James said in a statement. “All charities in New York state must adhere to the rule of law, and my office will not tolerate gross mismanagement or top executives funneling millions into their own pockets. Our case will move ahead, and we look forward to proving the facts in court.”
Jury selection for the trial began this week. Opening statements are currently scheduled for Monday in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
LaPierre has been the NRA’s front man since 1991. During that time, he’s been largely credited with transforming the group from a nonpolitical gun advocacy nonprofit to the polarizing conservative powerhouse it’s known as today.
“He changed the whole nature of the NRA,” Pace University law professor James Fishman said in an interview Tuesday. “It used to be the NRA was one of these organizations whose primary role was gun safety, to teach people how to use firearms safely and things of that sort. It was nonpolitical. LaPierre changed that and moved it far to the right.”
Amid the NRA’s declining membership and revenue issues, LaPierre’s controversial tenure was defined by a number of corruption scandals that culminated with James’ 2020 lawsuit. In its statement announcing LaPierre’s resignation, the group vowed to keep defending itself in the attorney general’s case.
“It is well-known that the NYAG vowed to pursue the NRA when she was candidate for her office and, upon being elected, filed a lawsuit to dissolve the association in August 2020,” the organization wrote.
The court denied James’ bid to completely dissolve the NRA in 2022. Judge Joel Cohen ruled that state-imposed dissolution should only “be the last option, not the first.” Still, the trial could have “existential” consequences for the NRA, according to nonprofit attorney Seth Pearlman.
“This is, on a lot of levels, very existential for the NRA,” Pearlman said in an interview. “If they lose this case, it’s going to be very difficult for the same people to reestablish a new organization. There are other gun rights organizations out there that will probably step in to fill the void, but the NRA has been a 500-pound gorilla amongst these groups, so it’s certainly going to hurt the cause.”
Follow @Uebey
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
