The NRA named FCC Chairman Ajit Pai the Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award recipient at CPAC for his efforts to repeal net neutrality rules. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo FCC chairman declines NRA gun award

Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Thursday turned down an NRA gun award he received at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week, citing the advice of ethics officials at his agency.

An executive from the National Rifle Association named Pai the Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award recipient at CPAC for his efforts to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality rules. The award was a Kentucky handmade long gun, which the NRA said would be housed at the organization’s museum until he could retrieve it.


But the FCC chairman, in letters sent Thursday to the NRA and to the American Conservative Union, which puts on the conference, noted he was "surprised" by the award and turned down the gun.

“As you know, once my staff became aware of what was happening, they asked backstage that the musket not be presented to me to ensure that this could be first discussed with and vetted by career ethics attorneys in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel,” Pai wrote, according to an FCC source who relayed the text of the letters.

“Therefore, upon their counsel, I must respectfully decline the award,” he wrote. “I have also been advised by the FCC’s career ethics attorneys that I would not be able to accept the award upon my departure from government service.”

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Pai, who according to the FCC has been the target of threats over his net neutrality actions, received a standing ovation when the gun award was announced. The event took place less than two weeks after the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., which has sparked a national debate about gun control and the power of the NRA.

The chairman was scheduled to give a speech at CPAC but ended up taking part in a panel discussion with his fellow Republican FCC commissioners to discuss the agency's work.

He's been widely criticized for repealing the Obama-era net neutrality rules, which required internet service providers such as Comcast and Verizon to treat all web traffic equally.

Government ethics rules would generally prevent FCC officials from accepting awards worth more than $200 without written clearance from their agency’s ethics officials, said Larry Noble, senior director and general counsel for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit organization that studies ethics rules.

Noble noted he had "serious questions" about Pai receiving the award when he learned of it.