FBI and US Air Force brokers have raided the houses of a person who runs a web site concerning the prime secret army base in Nevada referred to as Area 51.
Officers entered the properties of Joerg Arnu in Las Vegas and the city of Rachel, which is near the defence facility, earlier this month as a part of a joint investigation, authorities have confirmed, however gave no additional particulars.
The blogger operates a website known as Dreamland Resort which focuses on Area 51, an air power base about 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas the place testing is carried out on categorized army plane.
Started by Mr Arnu in 1999, it contains satellite tv for pc pictures of the bottom; articles on check flights, “black projects” and UFOs; drone movies of places round Area 51 and particulars on scanner frequencies.
Confirming the raids, Lt Col Bryon McGarry, a spokesman for Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, mentioned in a press release to the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “This is an open and ongoing law enforcement investigation between the Las Vegas FBI and Air Force OSI (Office of Special Investigations).”
In a information launch posted on his web site, Mr Arnu mentioned: “I believe the search, executed with completely unnecessary force by overzealous government agents was meant as a message to silence the Area 51 research community.”
He mentioned every of his houses had been raided on 3 November by as much as 20 brokers “in full riot gear”.
The raids occurred whereas Mr Arnu was in his Rachel house and his girlfriend within the Las Vegas one, and he mentioned they had been each “detained and treated in the most disrespectful way”.
He added: “My girlfriend was led out into the road barefoot and solely in her underwear in full view of our neighbours.
“I was led outside, handcuffed and only in T-shirt and sweats in sub-freezing temperatures.
“Despite my repeated requests for an evidence, I used to be solely advised that the search was associated to pictures posted on my Area 51 web site.”
During the raid, Mr Arnu claimed that every one of his “laptops, phones, backup drives, camera gear and my drone were seized”.
He estimated the harm to his house at $5,000 (£4,206) and the worth of the confiscated gear at $20,000 (£16,823).
He claimed there have been 40 pages lacking from the search warrant he obtained and the case file was sealed, stopping him studying about it.
Mr Arnu went on: “In an effort to defuse the situation I have removed some material from my Dreamland Resort website although I believe that it was legally obtained and legal to publish.
“I’m not sharing something on my web site that can not be discovered on dozens of different web sites and information outlet publications.
“Considering how this went down I have no intention of removing any more material unless ordered to do so by a federal judge.”
Area 51 has lengthy been a spotlight of UFO and alien conspiracy theories, solely enhanced by its secretive function.
The close by state route 375 was even formally dubbed the Extraterrestrial Highway in 1996.
But Mr Arnu is dismissive on his web site of UFO tales.
He states: “In reality, anyone who spends some time investigating Area 51 will quickly understand that what goes on there is very earthly in origin and has nothing to do with ‘ET’.
“It turns into obvious that the considerable UFO folklore is nothing however a welcome smokescreen, a distraction from the true function of the bottom, analysis and improvement of all kinds of black initiatives.”
Source: information.sky.com”