What To Know Today

NRA schedules emergency board meeting amid internal questions about bankruptcy. “The sole purpose of the meeting is to provide a briefing to the Board regarding the NRA’s reorganization plan and the legal matters overseen by the Special Litigation Committee, and to take any necessary action directly related to those matters,” according to a notice sent by National Rifle Association President Carolyn Meadows that was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The meeting for the gun group’s 76-member board, scheduled for this Sunday in Dallas, comes several weeks after Phillip Journey, a Kansas judge and NRA board member, asked a federal bankruptcy court in Texas to appoint an independent examiner to investigate the gun group’s executive leadership. Journey told the Free Beacon that lawyers for the NRA misled the board about the move to Chapter 11, but lead outside counsel William Brewer denied that in a statement.

NEW from THE TRACE: Her brother was blamed for his own murder. Now she helps police treat families with dignity. In our latest installment of the profile series of lives touched by guns, Ann Givens writes about Tashante McCoy-Ham. The California resident has been shaken by gun violence several times in her life — and each time felt abandoned. McCoy-Ham was herself shot outside a high school dance in her youth, but it was her brother’s murder in 2012 that turned her into an activist, fighting for both offenders and victims to be treated with dignity and helping to end cycles of violence. Her advocacy has taken her from survivors’ homes to the state capitol, ultimately landing her in a position to advise the Police Department in Stockton, where she lives. Yet this summer, another family tragedy — her cousin’s fatal shooting at the hands of law enforcement — put that relationship to the test. You can read Ann’s piece here.

House introduces bill reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, plans to vote on it next week. The law lapsed in 2019, and reinstituting it has been a major policy objective of the Biden administration. Among others things, the reauthorization of the law would give support to groups working to combat sexual assault and domestic violence. The bill also requires that law enforcement agencies be notified when a prohibited purchaser attempts to get a gun, reports background check denials to tribal, state, and local authorities, and closes the “boyfriend loophole” that exempts some abusive partners from the federal gun ban for domestic violence offenders. That provision was a sticking point for the NRA and conservative allies when the Senate — then led by Republicans — refused to act on reauthorization after it last passed the House in April 2019.

The FBI warns about far-right groups “seeking affiliation” with law enforcement, military. White supremacist and other extremist groups think the entities can help further their long-term goals, according to a report issued by the bureau’s San Antonio office last month that was obtained by ABC News. Related: There have been dozens of instances of law enforcement officers linked to white supremacist militant activities in more than a dozen states during the last two decades, according to a report last year from the left-leaning Brennan Center.

Oath Keepers militia founder was said to be in touch with members charged in U.S. Capitol attack. Stewart Rhodes made contact both before and during the insurrection, federal prosecutors said in court filings opposing the release of one of several Oath Keepers members arrested on conspiracy charges. Related: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a request to extend the deployment of up to 2,300 National Guard troops around the Capitol through May 23.

Data Points

1 — the number of investigations the Trump administration opened into local law enforcement in four years. [USA Today


25 — the number of investigations the Obama administration opened into local law enforcement in eight years. [USA Today]