On Jan. 5 former National Rifle Association (NRA) CEO, Wayne LaPierre, announced his resignation from the organization amidst a legal battle that has been raging since Jan. 6, just days before the start of his civil trial. LaPierre and the NRA as a whole are facing corruption charges due to luxury spending by LaPierre and others in the NRA Wilson Phillips, John Frazer, and Joshua Powell.

LaPierre has led the NRA since 1991, his resignation is to take effect on Jan. 31. The NRA claims his resignation is due to health reasons though they have been distancing themselves from LaPierre since the start of the lawsuit. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2020 by New York Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly violating New York state law on how charity organizations are allowed to work. The suit seeks to ban LaPierre and his peers from serving in leadership roles for any non-profit or charitable organizations in New York, effectively barring them from involvement with the NRA.

LaPierre is accused of having charged the NRA over $11 million in private jet flights over years, and $135 million in NRA contracts for a vendor which provided him with repeated access to a 108 foot yacht with free trips to various countries. LaPierre’s attorney, Kent Correl, claims the reasoning behind the lavish spending on private jet flights is due to the amount of death threats LaPierre receives, forcing him to use private modes of transportation. LaPierre allegedly spend $500,000 on eight flights to the Bahamas over three years, Correl has attempted to justify the spending by claiming that it was to meet LaPierre’s wealthy friend and film producer, David McKenzie, and that influential hollywood types were in attendance, who networking with would be beneficial to the organization as a whole.

 LaPierre has avoided scrutiny by hiring unqualified people who look the other way and helped LaPierre hide his spending, as well as retaliating against board members and executives who attempted to question LaPierre’s spending. 

“The NRA is important for defending gun rights, hopefully under new leadership it will be able to accomplish that without corruption,” Sophomore Mike Tigu said.

The NRA’s lawyer, Sarah Rogers, claims the NRA is not a scam organization, and that the organization is effective in its goal of protecting gun rights. This case could prove to be a turning point for the NRA as a whole, with new, more trustworthy leadership, the NRA may come out stronger than it was before.