- The viral "Storm Area 51" event finally happened on Friday night, but there was no storming to be done, and just lots of standing around.
- The Lincoln and Nevada County Sheriff's Offices said 200 people made it to the US Air Force facility's main gates and were given "heated warnings," but left after 10 minutes of taking selfies.
- Deputies arrested five event atendees in nearby Rachel and Hiko, however, in relation to "alcohol-related" and "indecent exposure" incidents.
- Conspiracy theorist have long believed the US Air Force's Nevada Test and Training Range to be the secret home of extra-terrestrial study.
- The "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us" event had garnered more than two million attendees on Facebook since June, and demanded "Let's see them aliens."
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The much-anticipated "Storm Area 51" event finally came to pass on Friday night, but no storming of the US Air Force facility occurred, with most posing at the gates for selfies.
More than two million people had clicked attending on the now-deleted Facebook event demanding "Let's see them aliens" which went viral in July.
Lincoln County Sheriff's Office posted a statement at 10 p.m. PT on Friday to say 150 people approached guards at the facility's Rachel Gate, and 50 at the Ticaboo Gate.
A group of people and law enforcement at the back gate of Area 51 near 3 am. #area51 #StormArea51 pic.twitter.com/pMz90zRtyJ
— Mick Akers (@mickakers) September 20, 2019
Police said they had no issues, but added they, along with Nevada Highway Patrol, had arrested five people in the nearby settlements of Rachel and Hiko over "indecent exposure" and "alcohol-related" incidents.
One officer from the Sheriff's office told Fox 5 Vegas that most people came to the gate for 10 minutes to take selfies before returning to state highway 375, known as the "Extraterrestrial Highway."
Sergent Adam Tippettes with Nevada County Sheriff's Office told Fox 5 those who made it to the gates were given "heated warnings" by law enforcement.
As of 10 p.m. PT police said there were 3,000 event attendees in the greater Rachel and Hiko area, and about 250 people at the Alien Research Center in Hiko.
A spinter "Alienstock" music festival was set up to happen in Rachel.
The original event had said: "We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Centre tourist attraction and coordinate our entry."
Area 51 has long been viewed by conspiracy theorists as the US government's front for experimentation on extraterrestrial life and UFOs.
Matty Roberts, the event's creator, told NPR the event was a joke and that people shouldn't actually go to Area 51, as it could be dangerous.
Read more: Before Area 51, the US' first 'UFO' controversy uncovered a top-secret military project
But Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee told reporters everything was running smoothly.
"I don't want to jinx myself, but so far it's gone pretty well," he told Sky News.
Trespassing at a military base can be punished with six months imprisonment, a $500 fine, or both, according to the US Department of Justice.
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