A federal bankruptcy judge in Dallas on Tuesday dismissed the National Rifle Association's attempt to declare bankruptcy, writing in a decision that the "petition was not filed in good faith" but rather as an effort to gain "unfair litigation advantage" against New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil lawsuit aiming to dissolve the nonprofit organization.
The NRA was chartered in New York in 1871. After James filed the lawsuit, the group's leader, Wayne LaPierre, announced the NRA would file for bankruptcy and try to move to Texas. On Tuesday afternoon, James tweeted that by rejecting the NRA's effort to claim bankruptcy, the judge showed the organization it "does not get to dictate if and where it will answer for its actions, and our case will continue in New York court. No one is above the law."
During the bankruptcy trial, several witnesses testified about how the NRA uses its tax-exempt funds to pay for tropical vacations, private airplanes, and weddings, NPR reports. LaPierre's private travel consultant said she received $26,000 a month to take care of LaPierre's travel needs and was taught how to change private jet invoices in order to hide destinations.
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