LATEST NEWS: NRA files for bankruptcy and announces it is moving from New York to Texas, where it has 400,000 members
The National Rifle Association filed for bankruptcy and announced that it is ‘abandoning’ New York to move to Texas, where it has 400,000 members.
The arms rights group announced on Friday that it had filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. court as part of a restructuring plan in an attempt to remove its ties to New York.
The NRA said in a statement that it would restructure itself as a Texas non-profit organization to move out of what it said was a “corrupt political and regulatory environment in New York”, where it has been registered for 150 years.
Five months after New York Attorney General Letitia James tried to dissolve the NRA by filing a lawsuit accusing her leadership of taking $ 64 million out of the group for her own personal use.
In a statement announcing the changes, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre said: ‘This strategic plan represents a path to opportunity, growth and progress.
‘Obviously, an important part of this plan is to’ leave New York ‘. The NRA is seeking reincorporation in a state that values NRA contributions, celebrates our law-abiding members and will join us as a partner in the defense of constitutional freedom.
‘This is a time of transformation in the history of the NRA.’
This comes after New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the NRA five months ago, in which she accused the group’s leadership of using the organization as their ‘personal piggy bank’ for years.
She sought to dissolve the organization because of an alleged own negotiation by the main leaders of the group.
The NRA has prosecuted James, claiming that his bombing action “was an unreasonable and premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it struggles to defend”.
President Trump had urged the group in August last year to move to Texas to avoid legal confusion.
“I think the NRA should move to Texas and lead a very good and beautiful life,” said Trump at the time.