It all started with an event posted on Facebook in July by Matty Roberts. The event was named “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us.” It quickly went viral around the world that an Area 51 raid would happen on September 20. In July, barely a week after it was posted over one million people on Facebook said that they would be attending this event. 

When ABC News interviewed Roberts, he had one thing to say to the people wanting to go raid Area 51, “Please don’t.” But he was probably too late because as of August two million people have signed up to attend, and some people seem very serious about this event. 

For those who do not know, Area 51 is located in the Nevada desert, so there have been many warnings on what you will need for this event. The town of Rachel has been preparing for these large numbers to come through; they posted on their website, “If you plan on attending the event you must be experienced in camping, hiking and surviving in a harsh desert environment, and have a vehicle in good shape. You must be prepared to be completely on your own for food, water, gas, etc. We expect cell service and the internet in Rachel to be offline. Credit card processing will not work, so bring enough cash.”

As you can see, this is an event that is being taken very seriously. This could be because Area 51 has been a part of many conspiracy theories; people have even said that the government has been testing on aliens there for years. All over social media you can see memes that people have made about going to Area 51 and and getting an alien. 

When I asked Tabi Stanec, a senior, if she thought the raid was actually going to happen she responded by saying, “I think people will show up, but I do not think people will actually raid it.” When asking other students of AHS, most of them also had the same response, people do not truly believe that this raid is something that is going to happen.

In approximately 11 days, the Area 51 raid is rumored to happen. Whether this event happens or not, it is highly doubtful anyone is going to be able to get their alien.