10/16/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/16/2024 07:54
Recently-Appointed NRA Chief Pleaded No Contest to Animal Cruelty Over Incident in Which Cat was Tortured and Killed, According to Court Documents
Student Who First Reported the Incident is Now a Moms Demand Action Volunteer
NEW YORK - NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Doug Hamlin was the subject of an expose in the Guardian this week, which found contemporaneous news reports indicating Hamlin pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty in the cruel 1979 killing of his fraternity's cat at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
"Heartlessness must be in the job description to run the NRA," said Nick Suplina, Senior Vice President for Law and Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, to the Guardian in response. "This revelation shows that the NRA has failed to turn the page on its scandal-plagued leaders and its doom spiral continues with Hamlin at the helm."
Shelagh Abbs Winter, who was named in a media report as the student who brought the incident to authorities at the time, is now a Moms Demand Action volunteer. When approached by the Guardian for comment, she noted of Hamlin, "Once a creep, always a creep."
Here's what you need to know:
On May 20, 2024, Doug Hamlin was elected by the NRA's board of directors to be the organization's next Executive Vice President, a position formerly held by longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre. LaPierre resigned in January 2024, on the eve of the group's trial in New York, which centered on allegations by New York Attorney General Letitia James that NRA leaders improperly diverted millions of dollars from the non-profit to benefit executives. For the 10 years prior to Hamlin's election to lead the NRA, he served as the Executive Director of the NRA's publishing division.
Hamlin's election to Executive Vice President was somewhat unexpected - the slated officer to take LaPierre's place, as put forth by the NRA's Nominating Committee, was Ronnie Barrett of Barrett Firearms. That said, Hamlin had been previously floated by LaPierre himself as a potential successor. In a 2021 deposition, LaPierre listed Hamlin as one of a list "of good people in this organization that I'm sure the board would look at" to replace him. The NRA Board of Directors vote between Barrett and Hamlin, taken just a few months ago, was reportedly decided by only 4 votes. It is unclear if these revelations about Hamlin's past will cause the Board to reconsider Hamlin's continued leadership at the NRA.