on September 25, 2021
National Rifle Association Director Rocky Marshall filed a motion Friday with the New York Supreme Court seeking to intervene in the state’s lawsuit against the NRA. He’s asking the court to make him a party to the case so he can seek the dissolution of the organization’s board, the ousting of Wayne LaPierre, and the election of new and independent leadership.
“It is clear that the NRA’s Board has not and will not fulfill its fiduciary duties to the NRA and its members,” his lawyers write on his behalf. “As Mr. Marshall says, these issues have been raised many times in the last several years by intelligent and serious people but the Board has steadfastly refused to objectively investigate and analyze them, or to take any action against the Individual Defendants.
“Therefore it will do no good to merely remove the Defendants LaPierre and Frazer, because this would leave the same passive Board in place that has allowed the misconduct that brought the NRA to where it is today. Only a new and independent NRA Board elected by the membership and free from Defendant LaPierre’s influence and control can effectively hire new executive leadership to oversee the NRA’s rehabilitation.”
Marshall argues in his motion that neither New York State Attorney General Letitia James nor the NRA are making true arguments in this case. James’ campaign against the gun-rights group is a thinly veiled attempt to “destroy the NRA and liquidate and give away its assets,” he claims. Dissolving the organization would not protect the NRA or its members, and Marshall believes the NRA can continue its mission and programs if its current leadership is removed.
On the other hand, Marshall says, the NRA is incorrect to claim that the AG’s case is nothing more than a political attack on the NRA and its leadership.
“To rule for the Defendants [i.e., the NRA] merely requires that the Court hold its nose and swallow their claims that the NRA Board has investigated the Attorney General’s allegations and found nothing wrong, disregarding abundant evidence of the Individual Defendants’ serious breaches of duty and conflicts of interest, some of which is already before the Court,” he writes.
Marshall argues that as the Director of the NRA, he has standing to intervene in this case and ask the court to dissolve the organization’s current leadership and install a temporary Receiver under N-PCL § 1111.
The Receiver would be able to hire independent accountants, attorneys, and other professionals to investigate and correct the alleged corrupt dealings on which the AG’s action is based. This Receiver would handle the NRA’s day-to-day operations until he or she organizes the election of a new Board, officers, and executives.
Marshall believes he is “well qualified” to act in this role.
“To the extent possible Mr. Marshall will work with the Attorney General to reform the NRA’s leadership for the benefit of all rank-and-file NRA members. Mr. Marshall will pursue recovery of all NRA funds wrongfully paid to the third parties implicated but not sued by the AG, while vigorously opposing the AG’s dissolution claim,” his lawyers write.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates, and read the motion yourself below.
has been reviewing firearm-related products for over four years and enjoying them for much longer. With family in Canada, he’s seen first hand how quickly the right to self-defense can be stripped from law-abiding citizens. He escaped that statist paradise at a young age, married a sixth-generation Texan, and currently lives in Waco. Follow him on Instagram @bornforgoodluck and email him at jordan@gunsamerica.com.
