Wayne LaPierre, for decades the most recognizable leader of the National Rifle Association, will still be on the hook for millions of dollars after an appellate court declined to overturn an order requiring him to repay the organization. The ruling keeps in place a restitution obligation totaling about $4 million owed back to the NRA.

The appeal loss lands as the NRA continues to grapple with the consequences of the internal conflict that escalated during LaPierre’s tenure. Even with the court decision settled for now, the broader struggle inside the gun-rights organization has not cooled, and attention has shifted to disputes over money, control, and the direction of affiliated entities.

A major flashpoint is the NRA Foundation, a related arm of the organization that is now at the center of an effort to separate it from the NRA entirely. Allies connected to LaPierre are involved in the push, which would effectively attempt to move the foundation’s substantial resources out from under the NRA’s control.

That proposed separation has intensified the already bitter power struggle within the broader NRA ecosystem. Supporters of the split frame it as a structural change for the foundation, while critics view it as an attempt to wall off a large pool of assets at a time when the NRA is facing major financial and governance pressures.

For the NRA and its members, the situation combines two simultaneous fights: the legal aftermath of restitution tied to the former leader and a high-stakes internal contest over whether a key affiliated institution—and its fortune—will remain connected to the parent group. With the appeal resolved against LaPierre, the battle now increasingly centers on what happens next with the foundation and who ultimately controls the resources intended to support the organization’s mission.