NRA Bars Wayne LaPierre from Serving in Leadership Roles for 10 Years
A magistrate in the state of New York on Monday prohibited former NRA chief Wayne LaPierre from holding a position at the NRA or its affiliated organizations for a decade after being found responsible for financial mismanagement of the country’s most famous gun lobby.
The magistrate granted the NRA and the New York Attorney General’s office one week to discuss potential modifications.
“The NRA and its top executives violated the law, and diverted millions of dollars in cash and extravagant benefits to themselves, their relatives, and NRA insiders,” expressed Attorney General Letitia James. “The damages section of the case we put forth, as well as the previous trial before the jury, showed that the NRA had an astonishing lack of responsibility and its executives engaged in illegality and self-interested actions. As a consequence of this case, Wayne LaPierre will be barred from the NRA for a decade for leading this deception, and the court required additional suggested adjustments to the NRA. After years of corruption, the NRA and its top executives are ultimately being held responsible.”
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Following a five-day period of deliberation in February, a jury in New York found the National Rifle Association accountable for financial mismanagement and concluded that LaPierre, the organization’s former CEO, dishonestly managed the country’s most eminent gun rights group.
LaPierre and a high-ranking executive at the NRA were instructed to collectively pay $6.35 million “for exploiting the system and violating our laws,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office initiated the lawsuit against the entity, declared after the decision.
The jury determined that LaPierre’s breach of his responsibilities resulted in $5.4 million in damages for the NRA, although he had already reimbursed over $1 million to the organization. He is obligated to pay $4.35 million, as stated by the New York Attorney General’s Office at that time.
The New York Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against the NRA and its top management in 2020, alleging that they misused millions of dollars to support personal luxuries — such as private jets, family holidays, and upscale items. The accusations emerged following a three-year inquiry into the NRA, which is registered in New York as a nonprofit charitable entity.
-ABC News’ Meredith Deliso and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.