The NRA has filed for bankruptcy after years of financial troubles
- The NRA said it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday.
- The organization has been beset by financial troubles for years.
- The NRA is also relocating from New York to Texas, where it will register as a nonprofit.
The National Rifle Association has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the group said in a statement Friday.
The move is part of a restructuring process, the NRA said, and "day-to-day operations, training programs, and Second Amendment advocacy will continue as usual." Marschall Smith, a former senior vice president of 3M Co., has been named chief restructuring officer.
The gun-advocacy organization also said it was officially moving away from New York and what it called a "corrupt political and regulatory environment" to register as a nonprofit in Texas. In August, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit to dissolve the NRA. In a settlement, the organization had to pay $2.5 million in fines and agree to a five-year suspension of its insurance.
The NRA has been in financial trouble for years. Internal financial documents showed it increased spending over revenue and ran a deficit for several years, including a gap of $10.8 million in 2018. Spending jumped in travel, entertainment, and legal and audit categories. Meanwhile, the organization cut spending for gun-safety programs.
Ohio State University accounting professor Brian Mittendorf, who examined the financial documents, told The Washington Post in 2019 that the documents were like those of a person living "paycheck to paycheck." In the statement announcing the bankruptcy filing, the organization said it was in "its strongest financial condition in years."