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NY judge hands 10-year ban to former NRA chief Wayne LaPierre, declines to appoint monitor
JAKE OFFENHARTZ, Associated Press
31 minutes ago
Bob Barr, president of the National Rifle Association, leaves a courthouse in New York, Monday, July 29, 2024. A New York judge has declined to appoint an outside monitor to oversee the National Rifle Association’s finances and internal policies. But he said he would bar Wayne LaPierre, the group’s former leader, from holding a paid position in the organization for a decade. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge on Monday barred Wayne LaPierre, the former head of the National Rifle Association, from holding a paid position in the organization for a decade but declined to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the gun rights group.
Judge Joel Cohen’s split decision came on the final day of arguments in the second phase of a civil trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The first phase of the trial, decided in February by a Manhattan jury, found LaPierre and another deputy responsible for spending millions of dollars on lavish trips and other personal expenses.
In ruling in court, Cohen said the state’s request for a monitor was not the right solution, suggesting the oversight mechanism would be “time-consuming, disruptive and impose significant costs on the NRA without commensurate benefits.”
Cohen also said he was concerned about “government intrusion into the organization’s affairs, which is chilling.”
He said the same First Amendment concerns did not apply to the possibility of LaPierre returning to the organization any time soon.
“This relief is about the privilege, not the right, to serve as an officer or director of a New York nonprofit organization,” he said.
LaPierre, who was sitting in the front row as the judge read his decision, did not answer questions as he left the courtroom.
Earlier Monday, LaPierre told the judge that appointing a monitor to oversee the gun rights group’s finances would be “tantamount to sticking a knife into the heart of the organization and twisting it.”
He described the appointment of a monitor as an existential threat to the group because it would send a message to potential members and donors that the NRA was “being watched by this attorney general in New York.”
An NRA lawyer, Sarah Rogers, echoed those concerns. She said the group had implemented new controls since the jury verdict, including bringing in new board members and a new compliance team.
But Deputy Attorney General Monica Connell downplayed those efforts as fruitless, arguing that old-guard leadership still effectively controls the organization.
In his ruling, the judge said the NRA’s reaction to the February verdict was “decidedly mixed” and accused the group’s leaders of demonstrating “a stunning lack of accountability” over their own culpability in years of mismanagement.
He invited lawyers from the NRA and the state to present new proposals for reforming the organization.
LaPierre served as CEO and executive vice president of the group for more than three decades. He resigned in January, on the eve of the first phase of the trial.
Those proceedings have highlighted the organization’s leadership, culture and funding, with state attorneys accusing LaPierre of siphoning millions of dollars from the organization to fund his lavish lifestyle, including private jet travel, expensive suits and family vacations.
The jury ordered LaPierre to repay nearly $4.4 million to the organization, while retired NRA finance chief Wilson “Woody” Phillips was ordered to repay $2 million.
The second phase of the proceedings was a bench trial, meaning there was no jury and the judge handed down the verdict.
James sued the NRA and its executives in 2020 under her authority to investigate nonprofits registered in the state. She originally sought to have the entire organization dissolved, but a judge ruled in 2022 that the allegations did not warrant a “corporate death penalty.”
The latest phase of the trial comes as the NRA faces an internal power struggle pitting its new reform-minded chief executive, Doug Hamlin, against longtime leaders who remain close to LaPierre.
The NRA has seen a precipitous drop in revenue and lost more than 1.3 million members since 2018, according to an expert witness called by the group.