The National Rifle Association has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The gun rights advocacy group announced the news Friday, stating the move was part of a restructuring plan that will come with "many financial and strategic advantages." The statement goes on to say that the association will leave New York, which it describes as a "corrupt political and regulatory environment," for Texas, where there are more than 400,000 NRA members.
"This strategic plan represents a pathway to opportunity, growth and progress," NRA CEO and EVP Wayne LaPierre said in a press release. "Obviously, an important part of this plan is ‘dumping New York.’ The NRA is pursuing reincorporating in a state that values the contributions of the NRA, celebrates our law-abiding members, and will join us as a partner in upholding constitutional freedom. This is a transformational moment in the history of the NRA."
The NRA also claims it's experiencing "its strongest financial condition in years," and that there will be no immediate changes to its operations or workforce.
The move comes about six months after New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit that aimed to dissolve the NRA. James accused the association's leadership of diverting millions of dollars from the nonprofit and then spending it on personal trips, private jets, and other extravagant purchases.
"The NRA's influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets," James said in a statement last year. "The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law."
Shortly after the suit was announced, congressional Democrats called on the IRS to investigate the NRA's federal tax-exempt status.
