Jury finds NRA, LaPierre liable for misspending millions

A New York jury on Friday held the National Rifle Association and ex-CEO Wayne LaPierre liable in a suit over lavish spending, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The jury determined that LaPierre spent millions on perks for himself and ordered that he pay $4,351,231 in restitution, according to the Associated Press. Any funds he pays in connection with the verdict will go back to the organization.

Jurors further determined that he caused a total of $5.4 million in damages to the group but had already repaid more than $1 million, CNN reported.

A judge will later decide whether to bar LaPierre and fellow defendants John Frazer, the NRA general counsel, and Wilson Philips, the ex-financial chief, from holding leadership posts in charities doing business in New York.

James had claimed that the NRA curated "a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement and negligent oversight."

LaPierre resigned as head of the NRA in January ahead of the lawsuit. 

"I’ve been a card-carrying member of this organization for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom. My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever," he said at the time.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.