On June 17, 2016 in Lake Barrington, Illinois, weapons are displayed in a store.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
WASHINGTON – The National Rifle Association said Friday it has filed for bankruptcy in US court as part of a larger restructuring plan to move to Texas after New York State called for the organization’s dissolution over alleged misappropriation of funds.
The gun rights advocacy group said it would restructure as a Texas nonprofit to end what it described as “a corrupt political and regulatory environment in New York,” where it is currently registered.
“The plan can be summarized very simply: we are DUMPING New York, and we are pursuing plans to reincorporate the NRA in Texas,” wrote NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, adding that the move “Won’t have any major changes. expected to the operations or staff of the NRA.”
In his statement, LaPierre said on Friday that the NRA is not insolvent and that the move to Texas would make the organization stronger. “We are just as strong financially as we have been in years,” he said.
He added that the organization has no plans at this time to relocate the NRA’s headquarters from Fairfax, Virginia.
Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president and CEO of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Lucas Jackson | Reuters
New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote in a statement that the state will review the NRA’s application, but added, “We will not allow the NRA to use this or any other tactic to defeat accountability and oversight. bypass my office. “
“The NRA’s claimed financial status has finally reached its moral status: bankruptcy,” she added.
Last year, James announced that the state wanted to dissolve the NRA in a lawsuit accusing the organization’s leadership of diverting millions for their own personal use, resulting in a loss of $ 64 million to the organization.
“The impact of the NRA has been so great that the organization went unchecked for decades, while top executives have funneled millions into their own pockets,” James said in August. “The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why we are trying to dissolve the NRA today, as no organization is above the law,” she added.
Attorney General of the State of New York, Letitia James
Lucas Jackson | Reuters
James is asking the court to dissolve the NRA and demand that each of the current and former executives named in the lawsuit pay a full refund.
Read more: New York AG Tries to Disband NRA in Lawsuit Accusing Leaders of Self-Trade, Causing $ 64 Million in Losses
NRA President Carolyn Meadows said in a statement at the time that the lawsuit is “an unfounded, premeditated attack on our organization and that the Second Amendment gives the freedom it must defend.”
The suit is another step in a long-running battle between New York and the gun rights group, which has been chartered in the state since 1871.
CNBCs Tucker Higgins contributed to this report from New York.