The National Rifle Association announced Monday that its Board of Directors voted to reelect Wayne LaPierre to continue serving as the organization’s CEO and executive vice president.
Mr. LaPierre’s reelection was never in doubt before the vote, as he received almost unanimous support over Lt. Col. Allen West, who launched a takeover campaign in the weeks leading up to the meeting.
Mr. West received only one vote.
The board vote was preceded by a resolution, which also was overwhelmingly passed by NRA members on May 29, that declared support — past, present and future — for Mr. LaPierre.
A former staffer accused Mr. LaPierre of using the Second Amendment advocacy organization to enrich himself personally, but Mr. LaPierre has disputed this past claim.
The NRA has been fighting off legal attacks since 2018 by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who called the gun group a “terrorist organization.”
The lawsuits include court action aimed at dissolving the NRA and the NRA Foundation, which the New York state Supreme Court tossed.
The group also wrapped up another lawsuit in March, by settling a dispute with its former marketing firm Ackerman McQueen.
The two sides traded accusations of financial wrongdoing, but the legal battle started in 2019 when the NRA claimed Ackerman McQueen overcharged, doctored invoices and misrepresented the employment status of retired Lt. Col. Oliver North, a former NRA president, as a third-party contractor instead of a full-time employee of the advertising firm.
Other Board of Director election results at the weekend’s convention were Charles Cotton, re-elected as board president, Lt. Col. Willes K. Lee as first vice president, and David Coy as second vice president.
The vote happened at the end of the NRA’s annual meeting in downtown Houston at the George R. Convention Center, which is 300 miles east of Uvalde, where an 18-year-old gunman last week shot and killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.
However, the NRA struck a defensive stance against criticism from Democratic lawmakers blaming it for gun violence in America and chiding the group for not canceling the meeting and opposing gun control measures.
“Like all Americans, we grieve for the people of Uvalde and Texas,” Mr. LaPierre said Monday. “Our children are our most treasured and precious resource — making schools safe is a national emergency.”
“I am honored to continue my work for the NRA, and to join our members in their campaign to promote responsible gun ownership and defend Second Amendment freedom for all law-abiding Americans,” he continued.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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