Acorn Closes for Good With Bankruptcy Filing

Acorn, the 40-year-old community-action group brought low in recent years by conservative activists’ allegations of voter fraud and other illegal activity, filed for bankruptcy Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times and CNN.

With the filing, Acorn, which had been winding down its operations since March, begins the process of formally liquidating and selling its assets. The group had been active in voter-registration, housing, and other programs to aid minorities and poor people.

Acorn was forced to scale back amid a series of scandals, culminating in the release of videos shot by a right-wing activist purporting to show staffers at its local offices encouraging a would-be prostitution ring. The footage was later found to have been substantially edited, but by then Acorn had lost much of its federal funds and donor support.

“The ongoing political onslaught caused irreparable harm” to Acorn’s finances and operations, said Bertha Lewis, the organization’s chief executive, in a statement on its Web site.