By Dave Workman
The National Rifle Association on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against its own charitable foundation—the NRA Foundation—alleging the misuse of millions of dollars in donations, and that the foundation has been “seized by a disgruntled faction of former NRA directors” who are now attempting to regain power via the foundation.
According to the 36-page complaint, this group of former NRA Directors “lost control of the NRA’s Board following revelations of financial improprieties, mismanagement, and breaches of fiduciary duty and member trust.”
“Booted out of power by the NRA’s members,” the lawsuit asserts, “they now seek to reclaim it through the Foundation.”
The Outdoor Wire has published an NRA statement which quotes Executive Vice President Doug Hamlin.
“This is a disappointing day, and it should not have come to this,” Hamlin said. “A foundation established to support the National Rifle Association of America has taken actions that are adversarial at a time when the NRA is rebuilding and focused on its long-term mission. I am deeply disappointed that these steps were taken, leaving no reasonable alternative. This action represents a last resort. The NRA’s brand and intellectual property exist solely to benefit the National Rifle Association of America, its members, all law-abiding gun owners, and its programs and services. For generations, donors across the United States contributed funds with the clear expectation that those resources would support NRA educational and public-interest programs. It is unacceptable that those programs are now being placed at risk by actions that conflict with donor intent and the responsibilities of the foundation’s board of trustees.”
TGM reached out to Tom King, president of the NRA Foundation, for comment. Via electronic chat, King said, “Our lawyers are analyzing the filing and we will have a comment when they complete their work.”
The NRA headlined its statement: “NRA Blows Whistle on NRA Foundation, Files Lawsuit in Court.”
NBC News is recalling that “A jury in a civil corruption trial found in February 2024 that former NRA leader Wayne LaPierre diverted millions of dollars from the association to live luxuriously while the NRA failed to manage its finances. New York Attorney General Letitia James filed that suit in 2020. LaPierre stepped down from his role atop the NRA in January 2024, days before the civil trial was set to begin.”
The NRA Foundation was created in 1990 “to support NRA Charitable Activities.” These activities include educational services such as firearms safety courses and gun safety publications, research services, and programs such as the famous “Eddie Eagle GunSasfe” program designed to teach firearms safety to children.
The NRA announcement included this background:
- In 1990, the NRA established the NRA Foundation to ensure that financial support for firearms-related activities would be available now and for future generations.
- Establishing the NRA Foundation, a 501(c)-(3) tax-exempt organization, provided a means to raise millions of dollars to fund the NRA’s gun safety and educational projects of benefit to the general public. Contributions to the foundation are tax-deductible and support NRA programs for a variety of American constituencies, including youth, women, hunters, competitive shooters, gun collectors, law enforcement officers, and persons with physical disabilities.
- Funds are raised primarily through the NRA’s “Friends of NRA” events held by the NRA, where NRA members and supporters donate money on the understanding that it will be used to support the NRA’s charitable programs.
- The foundation has historically approved requests to fund NRA charitable programs at the end of each year but has so far declined to approve any 2026 grant funding for the NRA. This harms the NRA, our members, and the public.
The lawsuit says the “Friends of NRA” program has raised approximately $1.2 billion in total contributions to the Foundation.
“The success of the Friends of NRA program has depended and continues to depend on the NRA’s efforts and the use of the NRA’s name and trademarks,” the lawsuit says.
The NRA complaint also asserts, “The Foundation’s beef with the NRA is personal. It is driven by a clique of former NRA leaders who are bitter that their faction lost control of the NRA’s Board following a series of scandals that led to a loss of member confidence, and the rise of a competing movement to reform the NRA that ultimately gained control of the NRA Board. The current legal dispute was sparked by the unlawful attempt of the Foundation’s current leaders to undermine the NRA and establish the Foundation as a competitor to the NRA using funds that the NRA raised and donors contributed to support NRA Charitable Activities.”
The document also says the Foundation’s current leaders, “including its chairman and the majority of its trustees, are former members of the NRA Board of Directors who were members of a faction allied
with former NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre.”
The NRA is asking the court to enjoin the Foundation from making any further expenditure or transfer of NRA-Restricted funds to support activities other than NRA Charitable activities, and an order appointing temporary trustees, directors, officers, receivers or “other agents” to take custody of NRA-Restricted funds.
Workman is editor-in-chief at TheGunMag.com
