Area 51 Facebook Prankster Comes Forward For TV Interview, Claims It Was A Joke

Bruce Haring

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The man behind Facebook’s “Storm Area 51” page has come forward, calling it “kind of a joke,” but expressing fears that government agents would come knocking on his door.

Matty Roberts spoke to Nevada’s KLAS-TV via video call on Wednesday and expressed shock at how his humor has turned into a viral sensation.

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“I posted it on like June 27th and it was kind of a joke,” Roberts said. “And then it waited for like three days and like 40 people, and then it just completely took off, out of nowhere. It’s pretty wild.”

More than 1.5 million people have signed up on Facebook to storm the top secret military facility on Sept. 20th, with another 1.1. million expressing interest. The Air Force has warned the foolish that they will take all measures to defend the base if there is an attempt to breach its security. Conspiracy theorists have long believed the base houses alien remains and/or extra-terrestrial technology.

Roberts is now speaking out in an attempt to quell the beast he’s unleashed.

“I was like, the FBI is going to show up at my house? And it got a little spooky from there,” he said.

Roberts told the TV station that his prank was inspired by podcaster Joe Rogan, who recently interviewed Bob Lazar, a man who claims he reverse-engineered alien technology at Area 51.

His Facebook page event description says that“We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry. If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens.”

Naruto Run refers to the unique running style of the protagonist Naruto Uzumaki in the Japanese anime series Naruto, where he is often depicted sprinting with his hands behind him to decrease wind resistance.

The Washington Post last week asked how officials will deal with anyone showing up for the event. Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews declined to elaborate on specific details of the military’s plans.

However, she did issue a warning.

“[Area 51] is an open training range for the US Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces,” McAndrews said. “The US Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets.”

 

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