Of Dying Light and Lengthening Shadows
In an instance that speaks to governmental overreach and underscores the increasingly militant tenor of America’s federal agencies, agents of the U.S. Air Force and FBI raided two homes owned by Joerg Arnu, the proprietor and webmaster of Dreamland Resort, a website that focuses on Area 51.
In a news release posted to the website, Mr. Arnu reported that his homes in Las Vegas and the tiny town of Rachel, Nevada had been raided “without warning” on 03 November 2022 “by 15-20 agents in full riot gear.”
“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,” Arnu remarked.
Arnu further stated that he and his girlfriend “were detained and treated in the most disrespectful way,” by agents who battered down the doors of both the Rachel residence, in which Arnu was situated, and the Las Vegas home, after which his girlfriend was looking.
“My girlfriend was led out into the street barefoot and only in her underwear in full view of the neighbors,” Arnu asserted. “I was led outside, handcuffed and only in a t-shirt and sweats in sub-freezing temperatures.”
“Even my phone was taken, leaving me and Rachel with two broken doors and no way to communicate or call for help,” Arnu deplored.
To his inquiries after the agents’ presence at his home, Arnu asserted: “I was only told that the search was related to images posted on my Area 15 website.”
Since its 1999 founding, Arnu’s website, Dreamland Resort, has featured YouTube videos taken from drones flown over the arid lands adjacent to Area 51, satellite images of the base, a discussion forum addressing Area 51-related topic, articles on test-flights, black projects, UFOs, and what the site alleges are photos of cryptic machines the likes of Northrop Grumman’s RQ-180 unmanned stealth aircraft.
Arnu stated agents seized his drone, the entirety of his laptops, phones, backup drives, and camera equipment—thereby depriving him indefinitely of medical, tax, and financial records, as well as personal contacts and photos. He estimates the damage done to his homes at $5,000 and places the value of the confiscated equipment at $20,000.
Arnu tacitly alleges legal chicanery, claiming the search warrant executed by the marauding FBI and USAF agents was missing no fewer than forty pages and the file pertaining to his case was sealed, rendering him ignorant of his own statutory circumstances.
“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,” Arnu concluded.
FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault set forth in an email that the agency “declines to comment” on Arnu’s case, the raids on his homes, the confiscation of his property, or the nature of its ostensible investigation.
Nellis Air Force Base spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bryon McGarry stated only: “This is an open and ongoing law enforcement investigation between the Las Vegas FBI and Air Force OSI [Office of Special Investigations].”
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