# Waco Siege

> **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: "Waco Siege," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/waco-siege/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*1993 federal operation against the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, led by David Koresh, resulting in the deaths of more than twenty-seven people — more than half of them children. Per John Kiriakou, a CIA colleague's reaction upon hearing the news was 'It's about time.' Kiriakou describes this as the kind of response he once might have shared, but which his later experiences with government abuse of power caused him to revisit.*

- **Year:** 1993
- **Group:** Branch Davidians
- **Leader:** David Koresh
- **Deaths:** 27+ killed, more than half children
- **Location:** Waco, Texas

[John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) recounted that when the Waco siege ended in 1993, a [CIA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia) colleague responded to the news by saying *"It's about time."* Kiriakou said he remembered thinking something similar — accepting without examination the government's characterization of the Branch Davidians as dangerous extremists who had brought the outcome on themselves.[1]

After his own imprisonment and experience of what he described as government fabrication, Kiriakou said he reconsidered both Waco and [Ruby Ridge](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/ruby-ridge). More than twenty-seven people died at Waco; Kiriakou emphasized that more than half were children. He described his changed view as: once you have personally experienced government dishonesty, you can no longer accept official accounts of events like these on faith.[2]

## See also

- [Ruby Ridge](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/ruby-ridge)
- [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 1:16:30. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwBMKwt14IU&t=4590s · 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 1:17:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwBMKwt14IU&t=4620s · 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/waco-siege/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt