NRA Exec Reveals Effort to Oust Him

INDIANAPOLIS —  The National Rifle Association was plunged into deeper internal turmoil Friday amid an effort by opponents of top executive Wayne LaPierre to drive out the man who has long been the public face of the gun-rights group. LaPierre sent a letter to board members Thursday outlining that the NRA’s president, Lt. Col. Oliver North, was trying to oust him by threatening to release damaging information about him to the NRA’s board. The Associated Press confirmed the contents of the letter. But several longtime and prominent board members told The Associated Press they were standing by LaPierre, who has symbolized the gun-rights movement for decades with his unwavering support of the Second Amendment. “Wayne has the confidence of a strong majority of the board,” said Todd Rathner, a board member from Arizona who began his tenure shortly after one of the last upheavals within the organization in the 1990s. “They trust him. They know that he’s the face of the NRA. And quite frankly I think that anybody that wants to remove him, they’re going to have to get through this board first.” FILE - Former U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North acknowledges attendees as he gives the Invocation at the National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum in Dallas, May 4, 2018. ​NRA sues its public relations firm The NRA is holding its 148th annual meetings in Indianapolis and the gathering began with a considerable buzz after the NRA filed a lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen, the public relations firm that has earned tens of millions of dollars in the decades since it began shaping the gun lobby’s fierce talking points. North is aligned with the public relations firm — and at odds with LaPierre and some board members who believe the group’s media operation and messaging have strayed too far from the NRA’s

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