# Ruby Ridge

> **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: "Ruby Ridge," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/ruby-ridge/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*1992 federal standoff in Idaho involving Randy Weaver, triggered by an allegation that Weaver had sold a shotgun with a barrel two inches shorter than the legal minimum; per John Kiriakou, FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi shot and killed Weaver's wife while she was holding her baby, and Horiuchi was never punished. Kiriakou describes Ruby Ridge as one of the events that, after his own imprisonment, caused him to fundamentally reassess his earlier acceptance of the official government account.*

- **Year:** 1992
- **Subject:** Randy Weaver
- **Pretext:** Shotgun barrel two inches too short
- **FBI sniper:** Lon Horiuchi
- **Outcome:** Vicki Weaver shot and killed while holding infant

[John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) described the Ruby Ridge incident as a case where the federal government killed a civilian woman for an offense that, even if proven, was minor: the sale of a shotgun whose barrel was two inches too short.[1]

FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi shot Vicki Weaver while she stood in the doorway of the family's cabin holding her infant. She died. Horiuchi faced no criminal punishment for the killing. Kiriakou named Horiuchi explicitly and described the absence of accountability as characteristic of how federal law enforcement polices itself.[2]

Kiriakou stated that before going to prison he had generally accepted the government's framing of incidents like Ruby Ridge. After his own experience with the FBI and the Justice Department, he said, he looked back at Ruby Ridge and [Waco](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/waco-siege) and concluded the official accounts could not be trusted.[3]

## See also

- [Waco Siege](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/waco-siege)
- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)
- [FCI Loretto](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/fci-loretto)

## Sources

1. John Kiriakou: CIA's Secret Torture Programs, Mk-Ultra, 9-11, and Why Obama Threw Him in Jail (2025-06-04), at 1:15:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwBMKwt14IU&t=4500s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-06-04-tucker-carlson-cia-torture-mk-ultra-911/
2. John Kiriakou: CIA's Secret Torture Programs, Mk-Ultra, 9-11, and Why Obama Threw Him in Jail (2025-06-04), at 1:15:30. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwBMKwt14IU&t=4530s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-06-04-tucker-carlson-cia-torture-mk-ultra-911/
3. John Kiriakou: CIA's Secret Torture Programs, Mk-Ultra, 9-11, and Why Obama Threw Him in Jail (2025-06-04), at 1:16:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwBMKwt14IU&t=4560s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-06-04-tucker-carlson-cia-torture-mk-ultra-911/

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