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NRA hires “warrior for freedom” Oliver North as president

CEO Wayne LaPierre calls North the biggest hire at the NRA since Charlton Heston.

The National Rifle Association has a new president — and in their words he’s a “warrior for freedom.”

Oliver North, a key figure in the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal who famously pleaded the fifth at least 40 times during his testimony of Congress, will become president of the NRA, the gun rights organization announced Monday.

Current president Pete Brownell, who is stepping down to work full time at his family’s gun retailer, and CEO and Vice President Wayne LaPierre called North a “warrior” in a statement Monday.

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“Oliver North is a true hero and warrior for freedom,” LaPierre said.

Watch: Current and former NRA members talk about what to do about mass shootings

North served as a Marine in Vietnam before joining the National Security Council under President Ronald Reagan. Reagan fired North for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal, where senior Reagan administration officials secretly sold arms to Iran to fund an insurgency to topple the socialist government in Nicaragua.

He was convicted of three felony crimes related to the scandal, but those convictions were later overturned on appeal. He hosted a military history program on Fox News, and he is a regular commentator on Sean Hannity’s show. The NRA said Monday that North is retiring from Fox News effective immediately to take the new job.

In a statement LaPierre compared North to former NRA president, actor, and pitchman Charlton Heston.

“This is the most exciting news for our members since Charlton Heston became President of our Association,” LaPierre said. “Oliver North is a legendary warrior for American freedom, a gifted communicator and skilled leader. In these times, I can think of no one better suited to serve as our President.”

Read: Here’s all the schools where teachers already carry guns in the classroom

NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch also called North a “warrior for freedom.”

North will be taking over at a tumultuous time for the 146-year-old organization. Loesch and other NRA spokespeople have attacked student survivors of the Parkland shooting relentlessly after the massacre on NRA TV, the visual propaganda arm of the gun lobby organization. Big brands have pulled partnerships with the NRA in recent months including Enterprise and Hertz.

Despite historically large protests for gun control and school walkouts over this issue, the NRA has not budged on its anti gun control stance, and instead advocates for arming teachers, a policy President Donald Trump also endorses.

Cover image: Oliver North, political commentator and former United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, speaks at the 2017 Values Voter Summit, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Friday, October 13, 2017. (Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images)