“It’s not going to deter me from my mission of delivering value for the American people and choosing that over getting a nice headline in the newspaper," Ajit Pai said. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images NRA gives FCC chairman gun award for ‘courage under fire’

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai received the Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire award at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday for his efforts to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality rules.

National Rifle Association Second Vice President Carolyn Meadows told Pai his award, which is sponsored by the organization, is a “Kentucky handmade long gun” that will be housed at the NRA’s museum with a plaque until he can receive it.


“You’ll love it,” Meadows told Pai on stage. Previous award recipients include Rush Limbaugh and Vice President Mike Pence. Meadows said the award is not given every year, but only when someone has “stood up under pressure with grace and dignity and principled discipline.”

Pai, who according to the FCC has been the target of threats, received a standing ovation. FCC spokesman Brian Hart said in a statement, “The CPAC award was a surprise and the chairman was honored.”

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The FCC chairman was scheduled to give a speech at CPAC, but instead joined fellow Republican Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Brendan Carr on a panel to discuss the agency’s work.

During the panel, Pai said he doesn’t play “small ball,” to explain why he took on the fight to undo the 2015 net neutrality rules.

“If the poisonous political culture in which we find ourselves continues, I’ll keep speaking out about that, too,” Pai said. “It’s not going to deter me from my mission of delivering value for the American people and choosing that over getting a nice headline in the newspaper.”