SALT LAKE CITY — The proposed Area 51 raid may have just started as a joke about “seeing them aliens,” but it’s starting to inspire some very real reactions.
TMZ reports that Nevada law enforcement agencies are briefed and ready to respond to any attempted raid on the U.S. Air Force base. Additionally, law enforcement is apparently monitoring the current conversation about the potential raid.
“We're told anyone who commits a crime in or around Area 51 — including trespassing — will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of local and military law,” TMZ writes. “Our sources also tell us local cops will work together to curb any attempts to even wander near Area 51 property.”
Deseret News previously wrote that the Area 51 Facebook event had crossed 400,000 attendees — a number that Comicbook.com notes has grown to 1.1 million. Organizers behind the event called for attendees to “Naruto run” — running with arms stretched out backward — in order to evade apparent military presence at the base.
Again, this is all a joke and has inspired dozens of memes. While some celebrities and social media users — like actor Danny Trejo — have joined in on the joke, others are taking it seriously.
Twitter user @TheZignal notes that alien enthusiast and former Blink-182 member Tom DeLonge discussed on Twitter that “storming Area-51 won’t do anything of value.” DeLonge discussed the implications behind uncovering secrecy at the base through bureaucracy and legislation before deleting the series of tweets.