Everyone in high school has heard the quote- whether it was from a friend or an online meme. The joke started as the result of one man’s Facebook event which stated, “Let’s raid Area 51, they can’t stop all of us.” Matty Roberts, the Californian man responsible for the post, never expected 2 million people to sign in agreement. The post was soon taken down, but its effects remained. Friday, September 20th, was the set date. Alien enthusiasts across the desert organized multiple festivals with themed activities; there were multiple ‘Alienstock’ parties which have thus far remained mostly harmless. Attendees dressed up as aliens or wore tinfoil hats, played alien themed games, and generally just expressed their shared interest in the whole concept.

Doug Criss of CNN states that, “There was one alcohol-related arrest and a Canadian citizen was also arrested for indecent exposure.” There was one arrest of a woman trying to cross into the facility, but she was only briefly detained before being released. And, yes, for everyone wondering; someone did Naruto run.

Overall, the raid turned out to be more like a huge party. Law enforcement stated that the crowd was ‘easily manageable,’ and many officers even mingled with the crowd of thousands that showed up. Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee stated that, “They did threaten that they were going to storm, but once officers warned them about the consequences for storming the base, they did have second thoughts.”

Luckily, the event did not turn into the humanitarian crisis that some people expected, and now Nevada may have a new festival tradition.