(Reuters) – The National Rifle Association filed for bankruptcy on Friday, a sudden development that could help the gun rights group escape a trial by New York’s attorney general, who is seeking its dissolution.
ANR filed a Chapter 11 protection application with the federal bankruptcy court in Dallas and said it intends to re-enter Texas to get rid of “a corrupt political and regulatory environment” in New York, where it is now incorporated. .
“Texas appreciates ANR’s contributions, celebrates our law-abiding members, and joins us as a partner in upholding constitutional freedom,” Executive Director Wayne LaPierre said in a letter to members. “We are seeking protection from New York officials who have illegally abused and armed the powers they exercise against ANR and its members.”
The ANR was sued in August by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused LaPierre and other senior leaders of self-management and mismanagement and said the group’s activities violate state laws governing nonprofits.
James said NRA officials diverted millions of dollars to fund luxury lifestyles, including vacations and private jets, and to buy the silence and loyalty of former employees, costing the group $ 64 million over three years.
“The financial status claimed by ANR has finally reached its moral status: bankruptcy,” James said in a statement on Friday. “We will not allow ANR to use this or any other tactic to evade the responsibility and oversight of my office.”
In its own statement, the NRA did not promise any immediate change in operations or manpower and said it was not insolvent, with LaPierre adding that it was “as financially strong as we have been in recent years.”
The group said it would continue to defend the constitutional rights of its members under the second amendment, which guarantees the right to keep and bear arms.
Critics say the NRA is a factor in facilitating gun violence.
In his trial, James said that the incorporation of ANR as a non-profit organization in New York gave him the authority to seek its dissolution. ANR filed a lawsuit in federal court in Albany, New York, accusing it of violating its free speech rights because it did not like its policy.
The ANR accused James, a Democrat, of seeking a “corporate death sentence” in partisan action to achieve a “career goal.”
Sixteen Republican attorneys general filed a case in support of the ANR case.
Friday’s move is likely to suspend the New York trial, and a reinstatement in Texas could deprive James of the power to dissolve the group.
Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Jonathan Oatis