US Air Force "Stands Ready to Protect" Area 51 From Over a Million People

TMU 

More than a million people have responded “going” to the Facebook event to storm the infamous Area 51 in Nevada thanks to a myriad of articles, memes, and GoFundMe pages on the topic.

More than a million people have responded “going” to the Facebook event to storm the infamous Area 51 in Nevada thanks to a myriad of articles, memes, and GoFundMe pages on the topic.

Now, the quickly growing RSVP list has caught the eye of the U.S. government and U.S. Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews appears to be taking the “threat” seriously, despite the many signs—including a post admitting as much—that the event page is just a joke.

“Hello US 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,” the post reads.

 

Still, McAndrews is discouraging people from “trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces,” telling the Washington Post:

“The US Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets.”

McAndrews’ warning, however, has only served to increase attention—and RSVPs.

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The Secret's Out: Obama Acknowledges Existence Of Area 51

 

The Extraterrestrial Highway, so named because of reports of UFO activity along
the road, runs along the eastern border of the top-secret Area 51 base in Nevada.
|LAURA RAUCH/AP

NPR
Adam Wollner

At one time, Area 51 was one of the most famous military installations in the world — a place widely talked about, yet so secret that the U.S. government refused to confirm its existence.

That's why President Obama's reference to the southern Nevada base Sunday raised eyebrows. It marked the first time a U.S. commander in chief has publicly acknowledged the facility that fueled countless conspiracy theories.

Obama used the annual Kennedy Center Honors ceremony to crack a joke at the expense of actor Shirley MacLaine, one of the five award recipients, who has claimed to have seen UFOs on several occasions.

"Now, when you first become president, one of the questions that people ask you is, 'What's really going on in Area 51?' " Obama said. "When I wanted to know, I'd call Shirley MacLaine. I think I just became the first president to ever publicly mention Area 51. How's that, Shirley?"
Conspiracy theorists have been obsessed with Area 51 for decades, claming — among other things — the government is holding aliens and crashed UFOs there.

The 1996 blockbuster movie "" cemented that notion in popular culture by depicting it as a highly secure repository for extraterrestrial beings and alien spacecraft.

A year earlier, President Bill Clinton had added to the mystery surrounding the facility by issuing a declaring the site exempt from environmental disclosure laws following a lawsuit. Yet the document never actually referred to Area 51 — rather, it specified "the Air Force's operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada."

It wasn't until that the CIA confirmed the existence of Area 51, officially known as the Nevada Test and Training Range and Groom Lake.

The said the site served as a testing ground for aerial surveillance programs, such as the U-2 spy plane first used during the Cold War.

No mention of aliens or flying saucers, though.