Free Republic

As the day of “Storm Area 51” arrived, a motley group of about 100 “alien-chasers” converged on the back gate of the secret site early Friday, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. At least two people were reportedly detained by local sheriff's deputies. “Storm Area 51” became a viral phenomenon after a joke Facebook post in July urged people to crash the military base “to see them aliens.” Conspiracy theories surrounding extraterrestrials have long swirled around Area 51. Originally scheduled for 3 a.m. PDT Friday, “Storm Area 51” garnered global attention, as well as security concerns. The Review-Journal reported that...

A bizarre online campaign suggesting that UFO enthusiasts storm Area 51 in search of alien secrets hidden at the infamous base has seemingly garnered the support of nearly 200,000 people. The wild idea is reportedly the brainchild of a group of online agitators who created a Facebook event titled 'Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us.' Although the proposed gathering appears to have been just a joke, the concept captured the imagination of the masses online. To date, a whopping 181,000 people have declared that they are 'attending' the event and another 200 thousand individuals have expressed interest...

To deal with any extraterrestrial-seeking attendees of the viral “Storm Area 51” event, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that airspace around Area 51 will be temporarily closed this weekend. The FAA issued temporary flight restrictions between September 18-23 for “special security reasons” in the Nevada desert where U.S. Air Force’s Nevada Test and Training Range — commonly known as Area 51 — is located. That means no one can fly aircraft in the surrounding area, including would-be alien hunters hoping to send a drone hovering above Area 51. The closures could be a result of the popularity of...