On Jan. 15, 2021, the National Rifle Association of America announced that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Second Amendment advocacy organization with 5.5 million members decided to begin restructuring in Texas as a nonprofit. 

This decision comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letita James. In the suit, James calls for the organization’s dissolvement due to violation of state nonprofit laws in their mismanagement of funds by senior officials who utilized millions for personal expenses. The NRA denies the allegations made by the Attorney General. After announcing their exit, James stated that she found the NRA both morally bankrupt as well as financially bankrupt.

According to a press release by the NRA, the NRA exited and filed for bankruptcy to escape a “toxic political environment” in New York. Documentation also reflects that the NRA assembled a limited liability corporation known as Sea Girt LLC, which has also filed for bankruptcy. 

However, while the NRA states that the organization remains in a strong financial standing despite filing for bankruptcy, it owes Ackerman McQueen — an advertising firm no longer in operation that worked with the NRA for over three decades — $1.2 million. The two remain engaged in a long-standing legal battle. Additionally, the NRA owes Membership Marketing Partners LLC $960,000 and owes Speedway Motorsports $200,000. 

To explain its reasoning for filing, the legal documents show that Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre consulted with three NRA officials, who elected to state in LaPierre’s employment agreement that he had the ability to “reorganize or restructure the affairs” of the nonprofit. 

While the organization is chartered in New York as a nonprofit, a standing it has held since its incorporation in 1871, its headquarters are located in Fairfax, Virginia. The NRA has not announced plans to move the headquarters from Virginia to Texas.