Ian Patrick, FISM News
A federal judge in Dallas, Texas blocked a bankruptcy filing from the National Rifle Association (NRA) which sought protection to reorganize in the Second Amendment friendly state. With this attempt to reorganize dismissed, the NRA is now vulnerable to a lawsuit filed against them by the New York State Attorney General.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale, who issued the decision wrote, “The question the Court is faced with is whether the existential threat facing the NRA is the type of threat that the Bankruptcy Code is meant to protect against. The Court believes it is not.” He further added that the NRA did not file for bankruptcy in good faith, but was “seeking the protection of the Bankruptcy Code to preserve itself as a going concern in the face of litigation that, it argues, poses an existential threat.”
The New York Attorney General Letitia James had filed a lawsuit against the NRA back in 2020 over “fraud and abuse” allegations. In the lawsuit, James claims that NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre has been using his status to influence where the money ebbs and flows within the association, even into his own pocket.
Contrary to his statutory duties of care, loyalty and obedience to the mission of the charity, LaPierre has undertaken a series of actions to consolidate his position; to exploit that position for his personal benefit and that of his family; to continue, by use of a secret “poison pill contract,” his employment even after removal and ensuring NRA income for life; and to intimidate, punish, and expel anyone at a senior level who raised concerns about his conduct. The effect has been to divert millions of dollars away from the charitable mission, imposing substantial reductions in its expenditures for core program services, including gun safety, education, training, member services and public affairs.
The lawsuit’s ultimate goal is to dissolve the NRA for these fraud and abuse allegations.
The NRA responded to the decision from the court by saying that it will continue to fight. They quoted LaPierre as saying:
Although we are disappointed in some aspects of the decision, there is no change in the overall direction of our Association, its programs, or its Second Amendment advocacy. Today is ultimately about our members – those who stand courageously with the NRA in defense of constitutional freedom. We remain an independent organization that can chart its own course, even as we remain in New York to confront our adversaries. The NRA will keep fighting, as we’ve done for 150 years.