Joke, Social Experiment or Human Disaster
It all started rather jokingly with a Facebook event entitled “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us,” but then it grew into a massive – 2 million+ people say they’re “Going” – social experiment full of possibilities.
College student Matty Roberts, the creator of the event, came up with the idea after watching the Joe Rogan Experience podcast on June 20, 2019. At some point he started a Storm Area 51 website to capitalize on all this publicity. People even made a song/video or two or three about it.
This rural, rouged, dangerous area is no place for millions of shock visitors. They don’t have the resources to hold that many people; even Las Vegas – 65 miles away – doesn’t have enough capacity for that many people.
Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee doesn’t expect many people to show up, but he knows what’s possible. “I think this started out as a joke but there may be enough people taking it seriously and it could be a problem,” the sheriff said. “Someone is going to get hurt and people may go to jail. It’s not anything to joke about.” Source: AP
Of course the US Air Force has warned people not to participate in this joke – and do not trespass on government property. The AF operates the Nevada Test and Training Range (Area 51 is part of), and they are ready and willing to “protect America and its assets.”
It all kicks off at 3 AM PDT, September 20, 2019. Grab some popcorn and pull up a chair.