(Reuters) – Wayne LaPierre resigned as leader of the National Rifle Association yesterday, ending a long career that saw it became one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington, only to have its prestige tarnished by graft accusations and a bankruptcy filing.
LaPierre, 74, chief executive since 1991, steps down just as New York state Attorney General Letitia James brings a corruption trial against the NRA, due to begin in state Supreme Court on Monday.
James had been seeking LaPierre’s removal from office, but he is still among three individual defendants in the case and is expected to testify.
The NRA has long accused James of targeting it for political purposes, and violating the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment for trying to silence its speech.
The group cited health reasons for LaPierre’s resignation, saying his longtime communications chief, Andrew Arulanan-dam, would replace him as CEO and executive vice president on an interim basis.
LaPierre helped build the NRA into a political powerhouse that has led efforts in Washington and in statehouses to expand gun rights under the Second Amendment of the Constitution, successfully fighting off attempts at gun control even as the number of mass shootings mounted across the country.
The trial set for a Manhattan courtroom on Monday apparently will proceed without delay. “We look forward to presenting our case in court,” James said on X, formerly Twitter.
LaPierre was in the courtroom all week as jurors were being selected for the trial, a person familiar with the matter said.
“The end of the Wayne LaPierre era at the NRA is an important victory in our case. LaPierre’s resignation validates our claims against him, but it will not insulate him from accountability,” James said.
NRA counsel William Brewer also said the organization was “prepared and ready” for trial.
“The NRA will defend its governance programs and its substantial efforts in support of the freedoms it fights to defend,” Brewer said in a statement, adding that the board accepted LaPierre’s resignation “with an outpouring of admiration for all he’s done to defend freedom.”
Gun control advocates celebrated the resignation.
