Who Is Susan LaPierre? Details On NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre's Wife
Her husband is a controversial figure.
Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock Wayne LaPierre has, for a good number of years, made his living as the CEO of the National Rifle Association, better known as the NRA.
Both LaPierre and the NRA are facing major troubles right now as they just had a huge lawsuit filed against them for fraud.
Regardless of your position on the Second Amendment debate, the NRA will always be causing a firestorm of controversy. But many people don’t know that his wife, Susan LaPierre, has courted her own share of controversy.
No stranger to the spotlight, Susan LaPierre is eschewing the traditional “stand by your man” trope and chooses, instead, to blaze her own trail.
And, like her husband, she holds a position in the NRA.
Who is Susan LaPierre, Wayne LaPierre’s wife?
Susan LaPierre is a self-proclaimed All-American girl.
According to her profile on the National Park Foundation website, Susan LaPierre grew up in the suburbs of Wisconsin. She claims that it was her father who taught her how to hunt, fish and shoot — implying that these skills were necessary for survival in the woods of Wisconsin.
As a result of her upbringing, and her position in the NRA, she also said that her goal is to recruit more women into NRA membership, and claimed that she’s “always been a supporter” of both the Second Amendment and the NRA.
Susan LaPierre is the founder of the NRA Women’s Leadership Forum.
As part of her goal of recruiting more women into the NRA, LaPierre founded the NRA Women’s Leadership Forum, where she serves alongside Janet Nyce in a leadership role, according to the NRA Women’s Leadership Forum’s official website.
She claims that it’s everyday women that make up the NRA Women’s Forum, and all they have to do is be concerned about the country’s future to join.
"We may come from different backgrounds, different places and different interests, but the common thread that binds us is our dedication to the protection of our precious Second Amendment. Because we know that without freedom, there is no future,” she wrote on the group's website.
Susan LaPierre sits on the board of the National Parks Foundation.
In what some had considered a political move on behalf of the Trump Administration, the National Parks Foundation placed LaPierre on their advisory board in 2017. According to the National Parks Foundations’ website, however, that was not the case.
“Mrs. LaPierre was one of four appointments to the board made earlier this year. None of the appointments was announced in a release by either the Interior Department or Park Foundation.
Mrs. LaPierre's appointment by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke leaked out this past week in connection with a story detailing the National Park Service's opposition to a handful of sections in the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act, or SHARE Act, that would impact the Park Service's management of fishing and hunting within the National Park System,” they had written.
RELATED: Who Is Neilia Hunter, Joe Biden's First Wife?
She’s been blasted as being a trophy wife.
More than a few people have railed against LaPierre as being little more than a “trophy wife” to NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre.
“Someone finally asked, 'whats her experience?' And the Deputy responded that the White House did not provide a bio and they could not find anything of relevance in her background, other than she leads the NRA's women's leadership forum,” a source wrote.
However, there are a few others who claimed that she wasn’t a “trophy wife,” but she was problematic regardless.
“This is not normally a political appointment spot. The last couple Chairs came up through the forest service or bounced back and forth between industry and the forestry service. Susan LaPierre has been a fundraiser for NRA affiliated companies for over 15 years,” another said.
However, in August 2019, she had come under fire after it was revealed that the NRA reportedly spent thousands and thousands of dollars on high-end hair and makeup stylists for LaPierre.
Wayne LaPierre and the NRA is currently facing a major lawsuit.
For the past 18 months, the NRA has been investigated for possible fraud. And evidence has now been found that they're "fraught with fraud and abuse."
Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, claimed in the new lawsuit that she had found millions of dollars worth of financial misconduct and losses up in the millions for the group.
The lawsuit also claims that top executives in the NRA, including Wayne LaPierre, had been using charitable funds for their own personal gain. For LaPierre, in particular, he has been accused of using the funds for a contract worth millions that wasn't approved by the group's board of directors.
He's also accused of receiving millions in expense reimbursements over the past few years and of spending many thousands on travel, including a safari in Africa with his wife. LaPierre also allegedly fought back against anyone who tried to point out his behavior.
James is seeking to dissolve the NRA. The group hasn't commented on the lawsuit yet, but they are going to be contesting the lawsuit in court.
Regardless of your opinion of the NRA, the Second Amendment, or even the Trump administration, it's clear that Wayne and Susan LaPierre will be causing controversy for years to come.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in May 2019 and was updated with the latest information.