Area 51 blogger Joerg Arnu accuses authorities of sending ‘a message to silence’ as his homes are raided by FBI and air force agents
FBI and US Air Force agents have raided the homes of a man who runs a website about the top secret military base in Nevada known as Area 51.
Officers entered the properties of Joerg Arnu in Las Vegas and the town of Rachel, which is close to the defence facility, earlier this month as part of a joint investigation, authorities have confirmed, but gave no further details.
The blogger operates a site called Dreamland Resort which focuses on Area 51, an air force base about 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas where testing is conducted on classified military aircraft.
Started by Mr Arnu in 1999, it includes satellite images of the base; articles on test flights, “black projects” and UFOs; drone videos of locations around Area 51 and details on scanner frequencies.
Confirming the raids, Lt Col Bryon McGarry, a spokesman for Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, said in a statement 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 news release posted on his website, Mr Arnu said: “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 said each of his homes had been raided on 3 November by up to 20 agents “in full riot gear”.
The raids happened while Mr Arnu was in his Rachel home and his girlfriend in the Las Vegas one, and he said they were both “detained and treated in the most disrespectful way”.
He added: “My girlfriend was led out into the street barefoot and only 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 explanation, I was only told that the search was related to images posted on my Area 51 website.”
Classified military aircraft are tested at the defence facility
During the raid, Mr Arnu claimed that all of his “laptops, phones, backup drives, camera gear and my drone were seized”.
He estimated the damage to his home at $5,000 (£4,206) and the value of the confiscated equipment at $20,000 (£16,823).
He claimed there were 40 pages missing from the search warrant he received and the case file was sealed, preventing him reading 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 am not sharing anything on my website that cannot be found on dozens of other websites and news 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.”
Mr Arnu believes the raids aimed ‘to silence the Area 51 research community’. Pic: AP
Area 51 has long been a focus of UFO and alien conspiracy theories, only enhanced by its secretive role.
The nearby state route 375 was even officially dubbed the Extraterrestrial Highway in 1996.
But Mr Arnu is dismissive on his website of UFO stories.
Area 51 has long been a focus of UFO and alien conspiracy theories. Pic: AP
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 becomes apparent that the abundant UFO folklore is nothing but a welcome smokescreen, a distraction from the real purpose of the base, research and development of all sorts of black projects.”
The overnight events do not reflect well on President Biden.
He had signalled so emphatically just days ago for Israel not to retaliate.
“Take the win,” the American president told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the early hours of Sunday morning.
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Benjamin Netanyahu has ignored Biden’s pleas. Pic: Reuters
It was a message made public and combined with back-channel briefings we were getting from the White House and the State Department.
Washington’s message to the Israeli government was that the spectacular failure of the Iranian attack, combined with the diplomatic first of having the Jordanians and the Saudis defending Israel, was a victory.
“Take it, don’t retaliate,” was the message they hoped would land. Uncontrolled escalation is just too much of a risk.
But Israel has been ignoring America for a few months now. Biden has frequently found the limits of his influence over Gaza.
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‘Blasts’ seen in sky above Iran – reports
As this week progressed, it became clear that on this issue too Netanyahu wasn’t going to be bent by Washington, London or anywhere else.
And there were plenty who questioned the wisdom of Biden’s diplomatic directive.
Israel had just faced the biggest aerial assault in its history by a nation committed to its destruction.
“Take the win”?! Really? To many, it sounded like an astonishing appeasement of Iran.
And so, as it dawned on diplomatic visitors to Israel this week that Netanyahu and his war cabinet were going to ignore Biden and hit back, the language began to shift.
“Don’t retaliate” became “minimise escalation”.
“We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible,” UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said after meeting Netanyahu on Tuesday.
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Cameron: Israel’s response ‘should be smart’
My understanding is that Western diplomats were given a heads-up by Israel that it was hitting back overnight and with some detail on the type and location of the targets.
But this past week raises questions about the Biden administration’s influence and its strategy.
Biden’s call for no retaliation was very public and echoed by allies. It was driven by the real fear of uncontrolled escalation.
But was it diplomatically smart to make the call so public? Some are asking if that didn’t just undermine Israel’s ability to reestablish deterrence.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Privately call for restraint, maybe. But why publicly?
But more than that, did the public “don’t do it” messaging just expose President Biden to failure and weakness when his directive was simply ignored by Israel?
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Brace now for the next move.
Perhaps a steady de-escalation through a series of strikes on targets each less significant than the one before it – both sides saving face, both claiming deterrence.
Such is the madness of conflict.
Donald Trump described the hush money case against him as a “mess” after the jury who will decide his fate has been selected.
Leaving the court in New York after proceedings were adjourned for the day, Trump addressed reporters, saying he was supposed to be in states like Georgia, New Hampshire and North Carolina as part of his campaign for the 2024 presidential election.
“[But instead] I’ve been here all day,” he said, labelling the trial as “unfair”.
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Trump held up a stack of news stories and editorials that he said were critical of the case while he continued railing against the trial.
“The whole thing is a mess,” he said.
It comes as all 12 jurors have been seated in the first criminal case against a former US president.
Pic: AP
Members of the jury include a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers.
Sky News’ US partner network, NBC News reported there are seven men and five women on the jury.
It comes after lawyers grilled hundreds of potential jurors asking questions on everything from their hobbies and social media posts to their opinion of the former president.
More than half of a second group of prospective jurors were dismissed by Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday after most said they doubted their ability to be fair and impartial.
One juror was also dismissed after she said she “slept on it overnight” and woke up with concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial in the case.
The challenge now is to select six alternate jury members before the trial can move to opening statements, with Mr Merchan hopeful this will be completed on Friday.
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Trump is accused of criminally altering business records to cover up a $130,000 (£104,200) payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, during his 2016 election campaign.
Ms Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who was paid $150,000 (£120,000), both claim to have had affairs with Trump.
Stormy Daniels. Pic: AP
His lawyers say the payment was meant to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to help him win the election.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could get up to four years in prison if convicted.
The former president faces two other criminal trials accusing him of trying to subvert his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, and another that accuses him of mishandling classified information after he left the White House in 2021.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
The world’s first known combat between a human pilot and a fighter jet controlled by AI has been carried out in California, the US military has said.
In a drill over Edwards Air Force Base, the pair of F-16 fighter jets flew at speeds of up to 1,200mph and got as close as 600 metres during aerial combat, also known as dogfighting.
One was manned, while the other jet was a modified version of the F-16, called the X-62A, or VISTA (variable in-flight simulator test aircraft).
The AI-run plane in action. Pic: Kyle Brasier/USAF
While in flight, the AI algorithm relies on analysing historical data to make decisions for present and future situations, according to the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which carried out the test.
This process is called “machine learning”, and has for years been tested in simulators on the ground, said DARPA, a research and development agency of the US Department of Defense.
In 2020, so-called “AI agents” defeated human pilots in simulations in all five of their match-ups – but the technology needed to be run for real in the air.
Pilots were on board the X-62A in case of emergency, but they didn’t need to revert controls at any point during the test dogfight, which took place in September last year and was announced this week.
The result represents a “transformational moment in aerospace history”, DARPA said in a statement.
It did not reveal which aircraft won the dogfight.
The two planes near each other during the drill. Pic: DARPA/YouTube
“The potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream up until now, said Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall.
“In 2023, the X-62A broke one of the most significant barriers in combat aviation. This is a transformational moment, all made possible by breakthrough accomplishments of the X-62A ACE team.”
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Colonel James Valpiani, a commandant at the US Air Force test pilot school. said: “Dogfighting is a perfect case for the application – machine learning.
“Dogfighting is extremely dangerous. So, if machine learning can operate effectively in an environment as dangerous as air-to-air combat, it has great potential to earn the trust of humans as we look to applications that are less dangerous but equally complex.”
He added: “The X-62A is an incredible platform, not just for research and advancing the state of tests, but also for preparing the next generation of test leaders.
“When ensuring the capability in front of them is safe, efficient, effective and responsible, industry can look to the results of what the X-62A ACE team has done as a paradigm shift.
“We’ve fundamentally changed the conversation by showing this can be executed safely and responsibly.”
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