# Maria Butina

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Maria Butina," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/maria-butina/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*Russian gun-rights activist convicted in the United States of failing to register as a foreign agent; John Kiriakou cites her case as an example of the "process crime" of FARA violations, contrasting the severity of her 18-month solitary-confinement sentence with federal guidelines calling for 0-6 months.*

- **Charge:** Failure to register as a foreign agent (FARA)
- **Sentence (per Kiriakou):** 18 months in solitary confinement
- **Federal guideline range (per Kiriakou):** 0-6 months

**Maria Butina** is a Russian gun-rights activist convicted in the United States of failing to register as a foreign agent. [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) says Butina founded a small Russian gun club, akin to a miniature version of the NRA, and reached out to the American NRA to build ties after moving to the United States for graduate school.[1] He says he has spoken with her a number of times and is Facebook friends with her.[2] She was arrested and charged with failure to register as a foreign agent, which Kiriakou characterizes as a "process crime" rather than genuine espionage.[3] Kiriakou notes that Butina, a first-time offender for whom federal sentencing guidelines called for zero to six months, instead received 18 months in solitary confinement[4][5], and that the United Nations deems any solitary confinement lasting more than two weeks to be a form of torture.[5]

## See also

- [AIPAC](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/aipac)
- [Jonathan Pollard](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/jonathan-pollard)

## Sources

1. CIA Spy Breaks Down What's REALLY Happening in Israel (2023-12-11), at 00:31. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw_RQc2tpvY&t=31s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2023-12-11-danny-jones-whats-really-happening-in-israel/
2. John Kiriakou: The Politics of CIA Whistleblowers — The Po (2023-05-13), at 25:14. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6nIky-RSTw&t=1514s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2023-05-13-indie-news-network-inn/
3. CIA Spy Breaks Down What's REALLY Happening in Israel (2023-12-11), at 01:34. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw_RQc2tpvY&t=94s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2023-12-11-danny-jones-whats-really-happening-in-israel/
4. CIA Spy Breaks Down What's REALLY Happening in Israel (2023-12-11), at 04:19. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw_RQc2tpvY&t=259s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2023-12-11-danny-jones-whats-really-happening-in-israel/
5. John Kiriakou: The Politics of CIA Whistleblowers — The Po (2023-05-13), at 25:46. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6nIky-RSTw&t=1546s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2023-05-13-indie-news-network-inn/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/maria-butina/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt