U.S. Air Force warns UFO enthusiasts against storming Area 51
- Facebook joke event to “raid Area 51” has already gained 1,000,000 “going” attendees.
- The U.S. Air Force has issued an official warning to potential “raiders.”
- If anyone actually tries to storm an American military base, the use of deadly force is authorized.
Conspiracy theorists, Ufologists, and, more importantly, internet satirists’ most favorite target of scorn and alien memes, Area 51, has garnered a lot of attention as of late. Recently, a Facebook event called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” riled up over 1,000,000 users who declared they were “going” — with another roughly 900,000 saying they are “interested.”
Obviously created as a joke, the event’s description reads:
“We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry. If we Naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens.”
A pinned post from one of the organizers of the event, Jackson Barnes, also reiterates the fact that this upcoming shindig is all in jest.
But as the event has gone viral and inspired countless jokes and memes, the United States Air Force released a statement about the potential military base raid.
It seems like the comedy of this convoluted, self-referential and juvenile “meme culture” might be lost on both the military and some unsuspecting UFO enthusiasts, who might take the opportunity to turn this thin line of shoddy internet satire into reality.
Storm Area 51 raid
A majority of news organizations reporting on this situation are taking it with a hefty grain of salt and some light-hearted jokes. No doubt the creators of this event are reveling in the extended coverage, as the “event” isn’t meant to go live until September 20th.
But that hasn’t stopped the United States Airforce from issuing a very stern warning.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews informed the news agency that officials knew about the event. Although she didn’t give any specifics on what would happen to any would-be trespassers, she stated:
“Area 51 is an open training range for the U.S. Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces. The U.S. Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets.”
The facility was officially acknowledged by the U.S. Government in 2013 when the CIA confirmed its existence through public record. Additionally, other reports have been released about that nature of Area 51 as just an aircraft testing facility. But no amount of publicly-released data will ever quell conspiratorial theorists — or, by extension, good-natured humorists.
A number of celebrities have RSVP’d to the event or referenced the joke, among them are singer Kevin Jonas, Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, and Jeffree Star. Expect more celebrities and “social media stars,” to start cashing in on the memes in the coming months.
Alert! Turn back, Area 51 raiders
Toward the end of Jackson Barnes’ Facebook post is the message:
“P.S. Hello U.S. government, this is a joke, and I do not actually intend to go ahead with this plan. I just thought it would be funny and get me some thumbsy uppies on the internet. I’m not responsible if people decide to actually storm area 51.”
Out of the millions who’ve either signed up or interacted with this internet joke, in some way or another, it’s inevitable that some stooges will take this event seriously.
For instance, a hotel in Rachel, Nevada, called the Little A’Le’Inn, which has glommed onto the Area 51 hype throughout the years has just recently received an unusually high number of reservations for September 20th.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Connie West, a co-owner of the establishment stated that, “My poor bartender today walked past me and said, ‘I hate to tell you, but every phone call I’ve had is about Sept. 20,” she then added, “They’re pretty serious; they’re coming. People are coming.”
Many people that called had mentioned the Facebook post when reserving the rooms. The Facebook post had invited people to Amargosa Valley, which is actually a few hours away from Little A’Le’Inn and further from Area 51 on the opposite side.
There are multiple signs surrounding the Area 51 perimeter and border which state that not only “photography is prohibited,” but the “use of deadly force is authorized.”
But hey, the fool who persists in his folly will become wise. After all, who’s to say the Ufologist persisting in his alien search won’t find some. Maybe our Naruto running raiders can use this show of force as a bargaining chip with the officials for a tour of the facility. . . if the government officials really have nothing to hide that is.
