Longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre steps down days before NY civil trial set to start

Wayne LaPierre, the longtime CEO of the National Rifle Association, said Friday he plans to step down after more than three decades at the helm of the powerful gun rights group.

The NRA’s announcement on Friday comes just three days before the start of a civil trial brought by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who has alleged that LaPierre and other executives used the organization as their “personal piggy bank” to fund luxury Caribbean vacations, the use of private jets and fancy dinners.

Andrew Arulanandam will become the interim CEO & EVP, the organization said.

LaPierre, whose resignation takes effect Jan. 31, is among several top NRA executives who are expected to testify at the trial. He and others at the group have denied any wrongdoing.

James, a Democrat, has accused the NRA’s senior leadership, including LaPierre, of illegally diverting tens of millions of dollars from the group’s coffers and spending its funds on personal trips, no-show contracts and other shady expenditures.

James released a statement on Friday hailing LaPierre’s resignation as “an important victory in our case” though she added that “our push for accountability continues.”

“LaPierre’s resignation validates our claims against him, but it will not insulate him or the NRA from accountability,” the state attorney general’s office said in its statements.

In 2020, James sued the NRA following an 18-month investigation during which her office is said to have uncovered “a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement and negligent oversight.”

According to James’ investigators, the NRA has squandered $64 million over three years.

James initially sought to have the NRA dissolved, but a state court struck down the effort in March 2022.

“As today’s complaints lays out, we found that the NRA … fostered a culture of noncompliance and disregard for internal controls that led to the waste and loss of millions of assets and contributed to the NRA’s current deteriorated financial state,” James said in the 2020 court filing.

The NRA accused James of using her office to wield political retribution.

“This is an unconstitutional, premeditated attack aiming to dismantle and destroy the NRA – the fiercest defender of America’s freedom at the ballot box for decades,” LaPierre said in 2020.

“The NRA is well governed, financially solvent, and committed to good governance. We’re ready for the fight. Bring it on.”

LaPierre, 74, has led the NRA ’s day-to-day operations since 1991, acting as the face and vehement voice of its gun rights agenda. 

He once warned of “jack-booted government thugs” seizing guns, called for armed guards in every school after a spate of shootings, and condemned foes backing gun control measures as “opportunists” who “exploit tragedy for gain.”

“With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA,” LaPierre said in a statement. 

“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.”