Doug Hamlin
Doug Hamlin, CEO of the NRA, was associated with a group of fraternity brothers who killed and tortured their house cat while studying at the University of Michigan in 1979. Latin Times

The recently elected head of the National Rifle Association was the president of his fraternity when he and four brothers allegedly tortured and killed their house cat because it wasn't using its litter box.

Doug Hamlin, who was elected CEO and executive VP of the gun rights advocacy group earlier this year, was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan and president of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity in 1979 when he and four other members got upset with their house cat, BK, for not using his litter box.

As punishment, they reportedly dismembered the cat by chopping off its paws, strung it up, and set it on fire.

The cat's tormentors were charged with a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge but pleaded no contest, according to The Guardian. The charge was expunged from their records after they completed 200 hours of animal-related community service.

The brothers were also expelled from their fraternity. As the fraternity's president, the judge spoke directly to Hamlin during the court proceeding to say he could have prevented the "unconscionable and heinous" crime.

At the time, students and animal rights activists were so disturbed by the case that they wore buttons and armbands in memory of the tortured house cat, The Guardian reported.

Social media users were equally distraught by the story, with some even calling for Hamlin's resignation "for sadistic animal cruelty."