Pro-arms lobby: towards a dissolution of the NRA in the United States?

Three months before the US presidential election, the New York prosecution is attacking the arms lobby. New York prosecutor Letitia James announced Thursday, August 6, that she had filed a complaint for financial fraud and wanted to dissolve the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), which has 5 million members in the United States.

She claimed that her boss, Wayne LaPierre, and three other senior lobby officials had used members' contributions and donations for years as "their own piggy bank," spending tens of millions of dollars, in violation of laws governing organizations. non-profit.

“I launched a lawsuit to dissolve the National Rifle Association for years of illegal conduct and breach of trust. The NRA is a breeding ground for frauds and scams. No organization is above the law, ”she announced on Twitter.

#BREAKING: I filed a lawsuit to dissolve the National Rifle Association for years of self-dealing and illegal conduct.

The @NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse.

No organization is above the law.

The prosecutor said the four leaders "basically looted the property" of the group, so much so that this lobby, which has injected millions of dollars into Republican election campaigns over the years, including that of Donald Trump in 2016 , is now virtually insolvent. "The influence of the NRA is such that the organization has evaded scrutiny for decades, as its top leaders put millions of dollars in their pockets," she added.

Family vacations in the Bahamas

In a statement, the NRA accused the prosecutor of wanting to "score points politically" three months before the US presidential election. She said that legal action had been initiated to oppose the complaint.

" We are ready to fight. We are waiting for you, ”responded Wayne LaPierre. “The NRA is well managed, financially solvent, and committed to maintaining good governance,” he added, calling the complaint “an attack on democracy and freedom”.

LaPierre has led the NRA for nearly three decades as executive vice president. According to the New York prosecutor, the leader among other things illegally used NRA funds to regularly take his family to the Bahamas for luxury vacations. He would also have given himself $ 17 million for his retirement without the agreement of the organization's board of directors.

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For decades, the lobby has defended the views of millions of gun owners in the United States, fiercely opposing any regulation of the gun market. Its influence is considerable and the organization does not skimp on the means to support candidates defending the same positions in elections, both at local and national level. Millions of dollars are expected to be injected again by the NRA for the presidential, legislative and senatorial elections on November 3. Donald Trump, a member of the organization, considered that this complaint was a "terrible thing".

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