The NRA is requesting bankruptcy, saying it will rejoin Texas

WASHINGTON – The National Rifle Association said Friday it filed for bankruptcy in a U.S. court as part of a larger restructuring plan to relocate to Texas after New York State sought to dissolve the organization for alleged embezzlement.

The gun rights group has said it will restructure as a nonprofit in Texas to break out of what it described as “a corrupt political and regulatory environment in New York” where it is currently registered.

“The plan can be summed up quite simply: WE ARE DUMPING New York and pursuing plans to reinstate ANR in Texas,” wrote ANR Director and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, adding that this move will not have “major changes expected for operations.” or the workforce of the NRA “.

In his statement Friday, LaPierre said the NRA is not insolvent and moving to Texas would make the organization stronger. “We are as strong financially as we have been in recent years,” he said.

He added that the organization has no plans at this time to move the NRA headquarters to Fairfax, Virginia.

New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote in a statement that the state will review ANR’s filing, but added: “We will not allow ANR to use this or any other tactic to evade accountability and oversight of my office.”

“The financial status claimed by ANR has finally fulfilled its moral status: bankrupt,” she added.

Last year, James announced that the state was trying to dissolve ANR in a lawsuit accusing the organization’s leadership of diverting millions for its own personal use, resulting in a loss of $ 64 million for the organization.

“ANR’s influence has been so strong that the organization has remained uncontrolled for decades, while top executives have channeled millions into their pockets,” James said in August. “ANR is full of fraud and abuse, which is why today we are trying to dissolve ANR, because no organization is above the law,” she added.

James asks the court to dissolve ANR and ask each of the current and former executives appointed in the process to pay the full restitution.

Read more: New York AG seeks to dissolve NRA in lawsuit, accusing leaders of self-trading, causing $ 64 million in losses

ANR President Carolyn Meadows said in a statement at the time that the process was “an unfounded, premeditated attack on our organization and the freedoms of the Second Amendment, which it is fighting to defend.”

The trial is another step in a long-running battle between New York and the gun rights group, which has been leased to the state since 1871.

CNBC Tucker Higgins contributed to this New York report.