The owner of a popular Area 51 blog reportedly had his home raided by the federal government over the weekend, with agents seizing many of his belongings for an investigation he says he does not know the details of.
Joerg Arnu, who runs the Dreamland Resort website that documents the goings-on of the highly classified Air Force facility, said agents with the FBI and the Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations raided two of his homes and inflicted “significant damage” to both of them. It’s not clear what the reason for the raid was, with agents only telling Arnu it was related to pictures that were posted on his website, he said.
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“I was never given a reason for the raid, nor have I been charged with a crime,” Arnu wrote on his website. “I believe the reason for the raid was primarily to send a message to fellow Area 51 researchers and to discourage others from looking too deep into the secrets of Area 51.”
Both homes — one located in Las Vegas and the other located in Rachel, Nevada, just outside Area 51 — were reportedly raided by 15-20 agents as Arnu and his girlfriend were detained, according to the blogger. The agents seized several of Arnu’s belongings, including his laptops, phones, backup drives, camera gear, and a drone, equaling $20,000 in losses, he said.
Photos of the incident posted online also show damage to the house doors, with Arnu referencing further damage that was not pictured.
“With the equipment I lost all my medical records, financial and tax records, passwords, email and phone contacts, photos etc,” Arnu wrote. “Even my phone was taken, leaving me ... with two broken doors and no way to communicate or call for help.”
Arnu suggested he is mulling legal action, arguing the search was “executed with completely unnecessary force by overzealous government agents, was meant as a message to silence the Area 51 research community.”
“There are 40 pages missing from the search warrant I received, and the case records are sealed,” Arnu said. “So, I cannot look up the reason for the search and I do not want to speculate. I left several messages with the FBI agent in charge but he has not returned any of my calls. At this point I have no choice but to take legal action to try and get my equipment back and to seek reimbursement for the damage.”
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Arnu created the Dreamland Resort website in 1999 to post drone photos and satellite images of the base, touting the page as the most comprehensive source on Area 51. The website also features discussion forums and articles detailing top-secret projects reportedly being developed by the Air Force.
Lt. Col. Bryon McGarry, a spokesman for the Nellis Air Force Base, confirmed to Fox News that an investigation has been opened into Arnu but declined to provide further details. The Washington Examiner contacted the FBI and the Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations for comment but did not receive responses.
