The Almost Raid of Area 51
September 30, 2019
The Area 51 “raid”, a Facebook event started by a man named Matty Roberts, occurred September 20th in Lincoln, Nev. and it wasn’t what most people expected.
In a culture fueled by strange internet phenomenons, it wasn’t any surprise that the Area 51 raid gained a ton of traction. Over two million people signed up for the event and it became a huge internet meme within days of being posted.
The goal of the raid was to uncover potential secret alien lifeforms that the government potentially has hidden in the deepest corners of the highly classified United States Air Force facility.
Although most people who signed up did it for comedic purposes, and although it could be seen as a big joke from the beginning by
others, some people took it seriously.
Roughly 2,000 people showed up out of the two million that pledged to be there. Many showed up in costumes or with alien propaganda/extraterrestrial related items. While others made posters with statements such as, “Free The Aliens!” and “They Can’t Stop Us All!”.
Although five individuals were taken into custody, a potential uproar was averted. Police and military officials guarded the back gate and most people that attended “came in peace”.
So, rather than the event be an attack on the federal facility, it ended up being a congregation of people enjoying themselves outside the area.
“The scene at the back gate was merry,” event attendee Karen Peterson said, “with law enforcement officers chatting with visitors and even helping to take pictures.”
One student, however, finds the topic ridiculous.
“I think it was pretty dumb, but also pretty funny,” senior Jackson Nguyen said. “It’s weird how something stupid like that can get so huge and blow up.”
However one calls it, it is no doubt that this “raid” will go down in history.
