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Doug Hamlin, the new CEO of the National Rifle Association (NRA), was involved in the gruesome killing of a fraternity house cat during his student days, according to a report unearthed by The Guardian.
Hamlin was president of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor when the feline known as “BK” was mutilated and executed in December 1979, allegedly for failing to use its litter box.
The animal had its paws cut off before being strung up and set alight in a horrific attack that led the culprit’s fellow students to wear badges and armbands in mourning across the campus.
Hamlin was one of five members of the brotherhood to plead no contest to a misdemeanour charge of animal cruelty, with the affair also leading to their expulsion from the fraternity house. The five undergraduates ultimately had the charges expunged from their permanent records after they each completed 200 hours of animal-related community service.
The saga was reported on by The Ann Arbor News at the time. In an article from March 1980, District Judge SJ Elden is quoted calling the act “unconscionable and heinous” and singling out Hamlin for particular criticism as the group’s president.
Reached for comment on Tuesday, Hamlin told The Independent: “I do not in any way condone the actions that took place more than 44 years ago.
“I took responsibility for this regrettable incident as chapter president although I wasn’t directly involved. Since that time I served my country, raised a family, volunteered in my community, started a business, worked with Gold Star families, and raised millions of dollars for charity. I’ve endeavored to live my life in a manner beyond reproach.
“My focus now is on protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
Meanwhile, The Guardian made contact with one of Hamlin’s fellow accused, who preferred to remain anonymous and described the episode as “regrettable” and “not a good chapter for anybody.”
A former university cook, who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, told the newspaper: “After it was disclosed that the police were investigating, a meeting was called, and the members were told to say nothing; not to cooperate; and not to, essentially, give up their brothers.”
Shelagh Abbs Winter, a fellow student who reported the cat killing at the time and who is now a member of the anti-gun campaign group Moms Demand Action, commented pithily: “Once a creep, always a creep.”
Hamlin served in the Marines after college and has since risen through the ranks of the NRA, working as the executive director of its publications division, before being elected to succeed long-time CEO Wayne LaPierre this summer – who was forced to step aside after the lobby group was hit by corruption allegations.
The shocking episode is not the only animal cruelty story to make waves in American political circles this year.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, briefly in the running to be Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s running mate, made headlines in April when she chose to reveal in her memoir that she had shot dead her dog Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer, because it was “untrainable”.
The anecdote was intended to portray Noem as a tough and pragmatic leader but instead sparked widespread revulsion and forced her to spend several weeks defending herself in media interviews.
