Federal judge dismissed bankruptcy case filed by NRA

By Alyssa Wilson Published: May 12, 2021

Federal judge dismissed bankruptcy case filed by NRA

FILE - This Feb. 29, 2020 file photo, National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre speaks at Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2020, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md. New York’s attorney general is suing the National Rifle Association, seeking to put the powerful gun advocacy organization out of business over allegations that high-ranking executives diverted millions of dollars for personal benefit. The lawsuit filed Thursday, Aug. 6, by Attorney General Letitia James followed an 18-month investigation into the NRA, which is a nonprofit group originally chartered in New York.(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

By: Alyssa Wilson

A federal judge has dismissed the bankruptcy case for the National Rifle Association (NRA) on Tuesday. This leaves the gun-rights group to face a New York lawsuit that accuses it of financial abuses, the Associated Press reported.

The NRA was chartered as a nonprofit organization in New York in 1871. Now, it wants to incorporate in Texas to avoid the NY lawsuit that aims to put the organization out of business.

Judge Harlin Hale of the Northern District of Texas dismissed the case, citing that the bankruptcy was not filed in good faith. “The Court believes the NRA’s purpose in filing bankruptcy is less like a traditional bankruptcy case, in which a debtor is faced with financial difficulties or a judgment that it cannot satisfy, and more like cases in which courts have found bankruptcy was filed to gain an unfair advantage in litigation or to avoid a regulatory scheme,” he wrote.

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the NRA in August 2020 over claims that top executives were illegally diverting millions of dollars for personal trips, no-show contracts for associates and other questionable activity. The NRA filed for bankruptcy five months later.

After the ruling, Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted that the state stands with the organization, and looks forward to working with them on a relocation to the southern state.

Texas stands with the @NRA and we look forward to working with the Association on their plans to move to Texas.

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 12, 2021

Despite the ruling, the NRA said it is empowered. “The NRA remains committed to its members and our plan for the future,” said NRA CEO & EVP Wayne LaPierre. “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.”