For three decades, Wayne LaPierre has been the face of gun rights in the US. Lean and bespectacled, known for his expensive suits, he was an unlikely spokesperson for American machismo. But the National Rifle Association leader’s willingness to defend Americans’ access to guns, no matter the cost, made him a powerful rightwing figure, whose relentless, paranoid rhetoric made him an important precursor, and then ally, of Donald Trump.
Today, LaPierre is facing a reckoning: he is expected to testify in a civil corruption case in Manhattan that will scrutinize allegations that he and other senior executives misused NRA donors’ funds, squandering millions of dollars on lavish personal trips and expenses, and treating the NRA as his own “personal piggy bank”.
