Wayne LaPierre, head of America's biggest gun lobby, resigns before trial

The longtime head of the National Rifle Association [NRA] has said he is resigning, just days before the start of a civil trial over allegations he treated himself to millions of dollars in private jet flights, yacht trips, African safaris and other extravagant perks at the powerful gun rights organisation's expense.

Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president and chief executive officer, said on Friday his departure is effective on January 31.

The trial is scheduled to start on Monday in New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against him, the NRA and two others who've served as executives.

LaPierre was in court this week for jury selection and is expected to testify at the trial.

The NRA said it would continue to fight the lawsuit, which could result in a further shakeup of its leadership and the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee its finances.

"With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA," LaPierre said in a statement released by the organisation, which said he was exiting for health reasons.

"I’ve been a card-carrying member of this organisation for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom. My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever."

James, a Democrat, heralded LaPierre's resignation as an "important victory in our case" and confirmed the trial will go on as scheduled.

His exit "validates our claims against him, but it will not insulate him or the NRA from accountability," James said in a statement.

Andrew Arulanandam, a top NRA lieutenant who has served as LaPierre's spokesperson, will assume his roles on an interim basis, the organisation said.

LaPierre's history as NRA face

LaPierre, 74, has led the NRA's day-to-day operations since 1991, acting as the face and vehement voice of its gun-rights agenda and becoming one of the most influential figures in shaping US gun policy.

He once warned of "jack-booted government thugs" seizing guns, brought in movie star Charlton Heston to serve as the organisation's president, and condemned gun control advocates as "opportunists" who "exploit tragedy for gain."

In one example of the NRA's evolution under LaPierre, after the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado, in 1998, the NRA signalled support for expanded background checks for gun purchases.

But after a gunman killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, LaPierre repudiated background checks and called for armed guards in every school.

He blamed video games, lawmakers and the media for the carnage, remarking: "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

"The post-Sandy Hook apocalyptic speech was kind of the talismanic moment when, for him and the NRA, there was no going back," Robert Spitzer, a political science professor at the State University of New York-Cortland and author of several books on gun politics.

The NRA remains a strong political force, with Republican presidential hopefuls flocking to its annual convention last year.

In recent years, though, the organisation has been beset by financial troubles, dwindling membership, and infighting among its 76-member board, along with lingering questions about LaPierre's leadership and spending.

'Dumpster situation'

After reporting a $36 million deficit in 2018, fuelled mostly by misspending, the NRA cut back on longstanding programs that had for decades been core to its mission, including training and education, recreational shooting and law enforcement initiatives.

In 2021, the organisation filed for bankruptcy and sought to incorporate in Texas instead of New York, where it was founded as a nonprofit charity in 1871 — but a judge rejected the move, saying it was a transparent attempt to duck James’ lawsuit.

"[LaPierre] is, more than any other single person, responsible for putting the NRA in the dumpster situation it is right now," Spitzer said.

Gun control advocates lauded LaPierre's resignation, mocking his oft-repeated talking point in the wake of myriad mass shootings over the years.

"Thoughts and prayers to Wayne LaPierre," said Kris Brown, president of the gun-control advocacy group Brady: United Against Gun Violence.

"He’s going to need them to be able to sleep at night. Wayne LaPierre spent three decades peddling the Big Lie that more guns make us safer — all at the expense of countless lives. He has blood on his hands, and I won’t miss him."

Another advocacy group, March For Our Lives, said that when it was founded in 2018 after a mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school, the NRA "was an untouchable and seemingly all-powerful political juggernaut."

Months later, the group sent a letter to the New York attorney general's office raising questions about alleged financial misdeeds involving NRA executives, including LaPierre.

The letter sparked the investigation that led to James' lawsuit.

"All it took was some meddling kids and a whole lot of determination to take down one of the largest and most powerful lobbying machines in American history," March for Our Lives said in a statement.

James sued LaPierre and three co-defendants — NRA general counsel John Frazer, retired finance chief Wilson Phillips and La Pierre’s ex-chief of staff Joshua Powell — in 2020, alleging they cost the organisation tens of millions of dollars from questionable expenditures, including lucrative consulting contracts for ex-employees, and gifts for friends and vendors.

LaPierre is accused of setting himself up with a $17 million contract with the NRA if he were to exit the organisation, and spending NRA money on travel consultants, luxury car services, and private flights for himself and his family — including more than $500,000 on eight trips to the Bahamas over a three-year span.

As punishment, James is asking that LaPierre and the other defendants be ordered to pay the NRA back and that they be banned from serving in leadership positions of any charitable organisations conducting business in New York, which would bar them from any NRA involvement.