NRA Head Wayne LaPierre Stepping Down From Gun Rights Group

Nina Golgowski
Updated ·2 min read
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National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre announced Friday that he is stepping down from the gun rights lobbying group, with the timing coming days before the start of a civil trial against him and other NRA executives.

“With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA,” LaPierre, who became the group’s CEO and executive vice president in 1991, said in a statement in which he also vowed to “never stop supporting the NRA.”

The 74-year-old reportedly cited health reasons as the motivation behind his departure, which will take effect Jan. 31 and leave Andrew Arulanandam, the head of general operations, as interim CEO.

But LaPierre’s departure also lines up with a civil trial against him and other NRA insiders named in a lawsuit by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. Jury selection has already begun in the trial, which is expected to begin Monday.

NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre reportedly said that health reasons led to his decision to resign.
NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre reportedly said that health reasons led to his decision to resign.

NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre reportedly said that health reasons led to his decision to resign.

James has accused LaPierre and other current and former NRA executives of misusing millions of dollars in donations to the nonprofit organization in a 2020 lawsuit that seeks to dissolve the group. LaPierre has denied wrongdoing.

On Friday, James called LaPierre’s resignation “an important victory in our case” and said it “validates our claims against him.”

“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,” she said in a statement.

The NRA acknowledged the start of the civil trial next week in its statement on LaPierre’s resignation while arguing that its board of directors has taken steps to right internal wrongs.

The board “has undertaken significant efforts to perform a self-evaluation, recommended termination of disgraced ‘insiders’ and vendors who allegedly abused the Association, and accepted reimbursement, with interest, for alleged excess benefit transactions from LaPierre, as reported in public tax filings,” the NRA said, while also thanking LaPierre for his leadership.

The NRA, founded in 1871, remains the largest gun rights group in the U.S., though it has become a shell of the political powerhouse it once was.

The organization’s membership and donations have significantly dropped in recent years as allegations of internal mismanagement and corruption emerged and gun violence surged across the nation.

The group attempted to file for bankruptcy in 2021, but the request was dismissed by a federal judge in Texas who ruled that the organization was trying to use bankruptcy to evade James’ lawsuit in New York. The NRA’s attorneys said it was trying to incorporate in Texas and avoid a political attack by James, who is a Democrat.

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