"The actions came after months in which the NRA had claimed, in court and in press releases, that the city and its police department unlawfully disarmed citizens in the face of lawlessness and thuggery after the storm."
Note the use of the word "claimed." It wasn't a "claim." The police were clearly and obviously in flagrant violation of both the law and the constitution.
"Police this week began returning the guns, but Superintendent Warren Riley said most of the weapons were not taken from the hands of gun owners. Instead, he said they were seized from empty homes where evacuees left them behind, to prevent looters from getting their hands on them."
Bull chips. Period. Bare-faced, unabashed lie. Period. Moreover, how does that excuse anything? What were police dong rummaging around in people's homes without a warrant...?
Sorry. Should read "...what were the police doing..."