The NRA has filed for bankruptcy after years of financial troubles

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The NRA has filed for bankruptcy after years of financial troubles
NRA Executive Director Chris Cox (L) and Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre (R) welcome U.S. President Donald Trump (C) onstage to deliver remarks at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Leadership Forum at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., April 28, 2017.Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
  • 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.
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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.

Read more: SCOOP: Don Jr. eyes a run for NRA chief. It's one more way the Trump family is making big plays to cement itself in GOP conservative politics for the next 4 years.

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.

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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."

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