Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Hundreds of reported encounters

between the U.S. Navy and UFOs.

DAVID WHITEHEAD: These craft are actually

interfacing with the military.

NARRATOR: Evidence of an otherworldly intelligence

monitoring our armed forces.

WILLIAM HENRY: We've seen too many examples of unidentified

aerial phenomena around strike groups

and other very important installations.

NARRATOR: And a concerted effort

by high-ranking officials to keep the public in the dark.

GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS: For years, the U.S. government

always denied the extraterrestrial question.

NARRATOR: After decades of denials,

could the United States finally be on verge

could the United States finally be on verge of disclosing everything it knows

of disclosing everything it knows

about an alien presence on Earth?

LINDA MOULTON HOWE: In a government of, by

and for the people, let's finally have everybody

tell the truth.

NARRATOR: There is a doorway

in the universe.

Beyond it is the promise of truth.

It demands we question everything

we have ever been taught.

The evidence is all around us.

The future is right before our eyes.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

The Pentagon.

April 23, 2019.

The United States Navy announces that it is creating new,

formal guidelines to encourage pilots and other servicemen

to report UFO sightings.

Officials promise that all such accounts will be taken seriously

and fully investigated.

The move marks a significant change in protocol

by the U.S. military

which previously has tried to deny

which previously has tried to deny or cover up these sightings.

or cover up these sightings.

HENRY: The Navy is saying, "We're willing to listen.

"We're gonna collect this data.

"We've seen too many examples

"of unidentified aerial phenomena

"around strike groups and other very important installations.

It's time that we start getting some more eyes on this."

NARRATOR: Officials are quick to dismiss the suggestion

that these craft have any connection to extraterrestrials.

But there is a long history of military personnel

reporting encounters with craft that defy explanation,

both around military bases and particularly nuclear weapons.

NICK POPE: Something about these nuclear facilities

seems to be attracting these UFOs.

Something that we are doing there is of interest.

And of course the logical deduction is

And of course the logical deduction is that it's the presence

that it's the presence

of the nuclear weapons themselves.

NARRATOR: Alamogordo, New Mexico.

July 16, 1945.

At a remote site in the Jornada Del Muerto Desert of New Mexico,

the Army successfully detonates the world's first atomic bomb.

The top secret test is given the code name Trinity.

The top secret test is given the code name Trinity. It is an ominous preview

It is an ominous preview

of the destructive potential of nuclear weapons.

MARTIN K.A. MORGAN: The Trinity test was

a turning point in history.

It rates up there along with harnessing fire.

It's truly, and in every sense, a milestone in human history.

NARRATOR: Just a few weeks after the test, the United States

dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities

dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In a world war that had claimed an estimated 85 million lives

and threatened to claim millions more,

the bombs succeeded in shocking Japan into surrender.

But back in New Mexico,

the Trinity blast also unleashed something unexpected--

a series of bizarre UFO sightings described

by witnesses as green fireballs.

So, right after the Trinity test site,

we have various reports

of these green fireballs being seen nightly

flying around at incredible speeds,

and no one could identify what these objects were.

PAUL HELLYER: The best explanation is

that they are, in fact,

drone reconnaissance vehicles from a scout ship.

They send out these drones and collect the information.

NARRATOR: Despite being investigated by Air Force officers

NARRATOR: Despite being investigated by Air Force officers and world-renowned physicists,

and world-renowned physicists,

no scientific explanation for the fireballs was ever found.

no scientific explanation for the fireballs was ever found. But this was by no means

But this was by no means

the beginning of the UFO phenomenon.

According to ancient astronaut theorists,

evidence that people have been witnessing alien craft

in the sky had been documented for centuries.

And in the weeks and years that followed the detonation

of the atomic bomb, the number of UFO sightings

of the atomic bomb, the number of UFO sightings began to escalate dramatically.

began to escalate dramatically.

POPE: After Hiroshima,

there was a quantum leap change in all of this

and a sudden, rapid acceleration of the pace of events.

The modern UFO phenomenon really took hold

The modern UFO phenomenon really took hold in a very short order,

in a very short order,

and the pace of all this just increased exponentially.

NARRATOR: Less than two years after the end of World War II

came one of the most famous UFO sightings in American history.

And it happened just miles

from America's most important nuclear facility.

On June 24, 1947, near Mount Rainier in Washington,

On June 24, 1947, near Mount Rainier in Washington, a private pilot named Kenneth Arnold

a private pilot named Kenneth Arnold

witnessed nine shining, disc-shaped aircraft move

at an impossible speed across the horizon

before disappearing from view.

POPE: These nine objects

flew in formation at speeds

that he estimated at what,

at the time, was a staggering 1,200 miles per hour.

But what a lot of people don't realize about that

is how close this sighting was

to the Hanford Nuclear Processing Facility.

MORGAN: The Hanford nuclear site

is where the United States established

its first plutonium production facility.

And this facility was producing the fissile material

that would later be used in atomic bombs.

The atomic bomb in the Second World War

could not have been developed without Hanford.

NARRATOR: Then, just weeks after Arnold's sighting

NARRATOR: Then, just weeks after Arnold's sighting

came the famous Roswell incident.

After a mysterious craft crashed in the New Mexico desert

outside Roswell, military officials announced

they had retrieved a flying saucer.

The next day, they suddenly changed the story

and claimed it was just a weather balloon.

Ever since, the Roswell incident has been the subject

of endless speculation and debate.

But no one debates that it happened literally

on the doorstep of Roswell Army Air Field,

home to the 509th Bomb Wing,

the unit that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The 509th Bomb Wing

was the most knowledgeable group of humans

on the planet at that time that knew about nuclear bombs

and nuclear warfare.

and nuclear warfare. NARRATOR: In June of 1948,

NARRATOR: In June of 1948,

exactly one year after the Roswell incident,

a similar UFO event occurred in the Soviet Union.

(beeping)

At the time, the Soviets were on the brink

of developing their own atomic weapon,

and the UFO encounter occurred at their primary

ballistic missile test site-- Kapustin Yar.

PAUL STONEHILL: It's a highly classified case.

But allegedly the silver, cigar-shaped object

appeared over the testing grounds.

And the Soviets were able to actually shoot this object down.

They found the remnants of bodies in it

They found the remnants of bodies in it and also technology,

and also technology,

which was recovered and taken to the local bunker

where they kept it, allegedly, for years.

NARRATOR: Kenneth Arnold's sighting.

The Roswell crash.

The Kapustin Yar incident.

Many believe it was these events that ignited the modern UFO era.

But is it a coincidence

that they all happened next to important nuclear weapon

and ballistic missile facilities?

While little has been documented about UFO encounters

in the Soviet Union during this time,

similar sightings were soon reported in the vicinity

of virtually every other nuclear installation

in the United States.

HENRY: The sites where we're developing these weapons--

Sandia, Savannah River, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge--

there were UFO sightings at these labs as well.

NARRATOR: Could there be a connection

between military weapons sites and reports of UFO sightings?

What role does the U.S. government play

in a policy of denial about encounters and even contact

with extraterrestrials?

Perhaps clues can be found by examining the recently released

classified documents regarding what really happened in Roswell.

NARRATOR: Washington, D.C., April 2011.

The FBI releases thousands of files as part

The FBI releases thousands of files as part of its online FBI vault.

of its online FBI vault.

One particular file draws the attention

of the media and independent researchers.

The memo, dated March 22, 1950, is a briefing

to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover

regarding informant information about three flying saucers

that were recovered in New Mexico.

Investigators immediately connect the memo

to the infamous Roswell incident--

a purported UFO crash that many people believe

was covered up by the military in 1947.

But this document is just the latest in a series

of government files that have been released

in recent years, suggesting there may be more

to the Roswell crash than the public was told.

As an investigative reporter, I think what I am amazed by is

how many leaked documents

from the 1940s have actually come out into the world

and lay out details about what really happened at Roswell.

On July 4th, a rancher named Mac Brazel

finds all kinds of strange silver debris.

He knows he doesn't understand what he's walking through.

He decides to go into Roswell and tell the sheriff,

"Something has crashed on my ranch."

Intel coming out of Roswell Army Air Field

get assigned to go to the debris field.

get assigned to go to the debris field. And these men are told

And these men are told

that they are to pick up every single thing

that is in the debris field on the Mac Brazel ranch.

that is in the debris field on the Mac Brazel ranch. Everything is to be picked up.

Everything is to be picked up.

NARRATOR: On July 8, 1947,

the headline on the front page of the Roswell Daily Record

reports that the military had retrieved a flying saucer.

But the following day,

the official story is suddenly changed to suggest

it was nothing more than a failed weather balloon.

POPE: Roswell was the home

of the 509th Bomb Crew.

This was the only atomic bomb-capable squadron

This was the only atomic bomb-capable squadron anywhere in the world.

anywhere in the world.

These people were the best of the best.

The idea that intelligence personnel

at this base would mistake a weather balloon

at this base would mistake a weather balloon for something exotic is preposterous.

for something exotic is preposterous.

So that, arguably, is the start of the UFO cover-up.

TSOUKALOS: Weather balloon, swamp gas,

TSOUKALOS: Weather balloon, swamp gas, meteorite, it doesn't matter.

meteorite, it doesn't matter.

It's always something else but a UFO.

The Roswell crash was covered up.

The fact that they retracted the story

of having captured a flying saucer, in my opinion,

it was quick PR damage control.

The world was told, "Nope, just a weather balloon."

And for more than 30 years,

that's where it was left, until witnesses started to surface,

saying, "No, it was actually an extraterrestrial craft."

And people saw alien bodies.

NARRATOR: Roswell researchers suggest

NARRATOR: Roswell researchers suggest a government-sanctioned bond of secrecy

a government-sanctioned bond of secrecy

has prevented witnesses of the crash and retrieval

from coming forward publicly.

But many did choose to come forward later in life,

including the first military officer to arrive

at the Roswell crash site-- Major Jesse Marcel.

According to his grandson,

Marcel privately shared many details

Marcel privately shared many details of his experience with the family.

of his experience with the family.

of his experience with the family. JESSE MARCEL III: My grandfather

JESSE MARCEL III: My grandfather

Major Jesse Marcel-- he was the head of intelligence

for the 509th Bombing Group.

As a kid, basically, around the dinner table,

we talked about Roswell.

And through conversations, we learned that

my grandfather was the lead investigator

into what has become known as the Roswell incident.

And when he was looking at the debris,

he couldn't make heads or tails or any sense

out of what he was looking at.

He had gathered some of the debris

and decided to take it home with him.

He kind of came to this idea that, he said,

"You know, whatever this stuff is, it's very significant,

"it's gonna change humanity.

"And I want my family to be a part of it.

"And I want my family to be a part of it. This is very important."

This is very important."

NARRATOR: According to the family's story,

Major Marcel came home after his first visit to the site

and laid the debris out on the floor of their kitchen.

Some of the material was a strange, thin metal,

similar to foil, except when crumpled up into a ball,

it would bounce back to its flawless state.

Marcel also claims the metal was not the same material featured

in newspaper photographs being held by his grandfather.

MARCEL: There's a pretty famous picture

of him holding a piece of debris,

which is just a piece of foil, basically,

and it was weather balloon material.

He begrudgingly went along with the story, held it.

And if you take a look at that, you'll notice

that he's not looking at the camera.

He's looking up at somebody barking him orders.

He fell in line begrudgingly

and did what he was supposed to do.

and did what he was supposed to do. NARRATOR: Is it possible

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that an alien craft really did crash in Roswell?

And if so, might there be a larger conspiracy

And if so, might there be a larger conspiracy that goes beyond New Mexico?

that goes beyond New Mexico?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes,

but they also believe that Roswell was not the first

UFO cover-up by the U.S. government.

Cape Girardeau, Missouri,

April 12, 1941, 9:30 p.m.

(phone ringing)

Reverend William Huffman gets a call from local police

informing him that there has been a crash, and he is needed

at the site to offer spiritual comfort to the victims.

HENRY: He probably thought

it was gonna be an automobile crash.

But to his surprise, when he arrived,

there is a disc-shaped craft,

and there are three alien-looking bodies

on the ground-- tiny, big heads, big eyes, small mouths.

DAVID CHILDRESS: The military was there, the FBI was there.

And he was astonished

to find that this was a crash of some kind of UFO

to find that this was a crash of some kind of UFO and that the being was an extraterrestrial.

and that the being was an extraterrestrial.

DAVID WILCOCK: He had the chance

DAVID WILCOCK: He had the chance to look inside the disc and found

to look inside the disc and found

that there were hieroglyphic-type inscriptions

on the walls inside.

The government told him,

"You're not to say a word about this to anyone.

This is totally classified."

NARRATOR: Huffman's account would remain a secret

until after his passing, when his wife,

until after his passing, when his wife, on her deathbed in 1984,

on her deathbed in 1984,

divulged the details to the rest of the family.

Witnesses have since come forward

to corroborate the account,

including the sheriff's brother

including the sheriff's brother and members of the fire department.

and members of the fire department.

Further details about the military response

have since been leaked,

and the incident has become known as

The Bombshell Before Roswell.

The story is that a military unit

from Sikeston, Missouri,

only about 30 miles away from the crash site,

comes in with orders to gather up these bodies,

gather up this disc, and fly it to Washington, D.C.

So, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, from 1941,

appears to be where our retrieval, as a government,

of things that were described as "from another world" began.

The Cape Girardeau crash was a preparation

for the military's response to the Roswell crash.

And the military learned an awful lot about how

to handle these events and how to make sure

that they put a blanket of secrecy

that they put a blanket of secrecy over future crash events.

over future crash events.

NARRATOR: While the Roswell crash is now infamous,

what is lesser known is

that similar incidents were reported all across America

around the same time.

These incidents include crashes in San Antonio, New Mexico,

Twin Falls, Idaho, Hebgen Lake, Montana,

Braxton County, West Virginia, and many others.

But perhaps the most sensational incidents of all were those

that involved the most powerful people in the United States.

NARRATOR: Oyster Bay, Long Island.

August 1, 1907.

At the estate of Theodore Roosevelt,

the 26th president of the United States,

a giant orb of light is witnessed

by dozens of neighbors, hovering in the sky for nearly two hours.

In 1907, there was a spectacular UFO sighting

over Sagamore Hill,

one of the residences of President Teddy Roosevelt.

Now, Roosevelt, at the time, was working

on a critically important speech,

and in this speech he would set out a strategic vision

and in this speech he would set out a strategic vision for the United States to develop

for the United States to develop

a truly modern navy

that would propel the United States into the position

of a global superpower.

MORGAN: As a part of his vision,

Roosevelt wanted to develop Pearl Harbor.

It could be said that, were it not for Roosevelt

realizing that vision for the future of the nation,

that American intervention in the First World War

might not have been as significant as it was.

So, were the UFOs, were the strange lights

So, were the UFOs, were the strange lights over Sagamore Hill at the same time

over Sagamore Hill at the same time

Theodore Roosevelt was coming up with this vision

of a world consortium of nations--

of a world consortium of nations-- are they somehow linked?

are they somehow linked?

NARRATOR: Researchers find this incident compelling,

not only because it is connected with a U.S. president

at a critical moment in history but also because reports

of UFO sightings were incredibly rare

at the beginning of the 20th century.

After World War II, however, this was no longer the case.

After World War II, however, this was no longer the case. And it happened under the watch

And it happened under the watch

of the country's 33rd president Harry S. Truman.

HOLCOMBE: The Truman administration was really

the golden years

of flying saucers, as they were known then.

You had Kenneth Arnold's sighting.

You had Roswell.

But then the great incident was

the great Washington merry-go-round

where, in two weekends in July 1952,

Washington, D.C. was overrun

with strange objects that were tracked

by the radar at National Airport

and radar at Andrews Air Force Base.

This is David Brinkley in the radar room

at Washington National Airport.

On these radar screens last Saturday,

they saw something strange and unusual

and, at the moment, unexplainable.

It was not an airplane, it was not a cloud.

Nobody knows what it was.

HOLCOMBE: The second week in, jets were scrambled.

And one pilot called and said,

"What should I do?" Meaning, "Should I fire on them?"

And the strange objects, all of a sudden,

And the strange objects, all of a sudden, backed off and disappeared.

backed off and disappeared.

NARRATOR: When President Truman was questioned

about UFO incidents like the Washington, D.C. sightings,

he remarkably did not deny the possibility of flying saucers.

Oh, yes, we discussed it at every conference that we had

with the military, and they never have been...

never were able to make me a concrete report on it.

There's always things like that going on, uh, flying saucers.

NARRATOR: Many researchers point out

that it was at this point in history--

that it was at this point in history-- the dawn of the Cold War--

the dawn of the Cold War--

that Truman established a policy of government secrecy

that has come to be known as the national security state.

MORGAN: President Truman really sends us down the path

to the modern security state

with the National Security Act of 1947.

It created the National Security Council

and it created the Central Intelligence Agency.

Truman is responding to what is now the oncoming Cold War,

this new conflict that will dominate our global politics

this new conflict that will dominate our global politics for the next five decades.

for the next five decades.

NARRATOR: Whatever Truman's motivation

for drastically increasing government secrecy,

the topic of UFOs was caught in the web.

And UFOs were something that people were experiencing.

And right at the moment when it appears

that that activity is kind of reaching a head,

suddenly we have the creation

of the modern national security state.

of the modern national security state. Truman clamps down

Truman clamps down

on the open discussion of such things.

STEPHEN BASSETT: That's a critical moment in history.

Truman made a decision that was fateful,

and had he gone a different way,

it would have changed the entire 20th century.

NARRATOR: Palm Springs, California.

February 20, 1954.

Harry Truman's successor President Dwight D. Eisenhower

is on a golfing vacation when he fails to show up

for a scheduled public dinner.

The press corps is given no explanation

until the president finally reappears the next day,

at which time his staff announces that he had been

at an emergency dentist appointment for a chipped tooth.

But curiously, Eisenhower's medical and dental records

contain no reference to this dentist visit.

Eisenhower goes to Palm Springs

and he actually disappears.

There's no doubt about this from the presidential records.

BIRNES: It's really an astounding story.

He's secreted out to this air force base

He's secreted out to this air force base where he meets with aliens.

where he meets with aliens.

And he and the aliens strike up a treaty.

And here's the treaty.

"You can stay in our skies, surveil us, you can study us.

"In return, we want all of your technology

and we agree not to disclose your existence." Why?

and we agree not to disclose your existence." Why? Because this is after the 1952 invasion

Because this is after the 1952 invasion

of UFOs over Washington,

so there's an urgency to Eisenhower

so there's an urgency to Eisenhower striking a treaty with them.

striking a treaty with them.

NARRATOR: Numerous whistleblowers later came forward

claiming that Eisenhower met with extraterrestrial beings

not just once but three times.

And many who have researched these events,

including Eisenhower's own great-granddaughter,

are convinced a treaty was actually signed.

I just feel like I was just born into this family

to be the one willing to tackle it, willing to give it a voice,

willing to kind of disseminate it.

And I know it's really hard for people

to wrap their heads around the fact

that during Eisenhower's administration

there was all this contact going on.

And it's gotten to the point

where there's so much information about it

that it-it really can't be denied.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that after World War II

and humankind's development of atomic weapons,

alien visitors communicated directly

with officials within the United States government?

Perhaps even Presidents Harry Truman

and Dwight Eisenhower?

Ufologists say yes

and suggest further evidence of communication

between extraterrestrials and top military brass

can be found by examining a series

of leaked top secret government documents.

NARRATOR: Movie producer

and UFO researcher Jaime Shandera arrives home

to find a manila envelope

has been dropped through the mail slot of his front door.

The postmark indicates that it was sent

The postmark indicates that it was sent from Albuquerque, New Mexico,

from Albuquerque, New Mexico,

but no return address is written on the envelope.

When he opens it, he finds only a roll of 35 millimeter film.

And what he had received was this package right here.

This is the original package,

and inside the package there was a roll of film

inside this canister.

And this is actually the roll of film that he received.

And this film, when copied properly,

produced these eight pages

of the Eisenhower briefing document.

NARRATOR: The Eisenhower briefing document is a memo

that was allegedly written in 1952

by the first director of the CIA-- Roscoe Hillenkoetter--

to President-Elect Dwight Eisenhower.

to President-Elect Dwight Eisenhower. In it, Hillenkoetter writes

In it, Hillenkoetter writes

that sitting president Harry Truman has formed

a secret group within the U.S. government

called the Majestic 12

to examine crashed extraterrestrial spacecraft.

WOOD: The document that he received basically reported

that we had had previous crashes,

including the one at Roswell.

The bottom-line recommendation

to President Eisenhower was that this topic continued

to be kept secret.

NARRATOR: Aerospace engineer Dr. Robert Wood was one

of the men Shandera asked to examine this memo.

His 43-year career included work on aerodynamic heating,

His 43-year career included work on aerodynamic heating, ballistic missile defense, radar, and the space station.

ballistic missile defense, radar, and the space station.

It is his opinion that this document is the smoking gun

to prove that the most famous alleged UFO crash of all time--

the Roswell incident-- really was an extraterrestrial event.

WOOD: For several years I was looking at the authenticity

of this memo and trying to relate to other sources.

In terms of the main ideas and the statements of fact

in the memo being correct, I'm-I'm confident that they are.

NARRATOR: The Roswell incident that is detailed

in the Eisenhower briefing document

occurred in 1947 during Truman's first term in office,

when Eisenhower was Chief of Staff of the Army.

Harry Truman is president of the United States.

Dwight D. Eisenhower,

General Nathan Twining,

these people would be the very first

that would get these calls.

And there was some sort of a communication glitch.

That's how that headline made it out.

That one headline was telling the truth, that this

government did not want information about nonhumans out

to what their perceived enemies were.

And Harry S. Truman,

a practical man in every way,

a practical man in every way, looking at this whole situation,

looking at this whole situation,

he must have said, "I need help I can trust."

CADDY: If you were President Truman in 1947

and you were presented with credible evidence

that there was an alien presence on planet Earth,

what would you do?

You would create a commission to study what is going on and make

recommendations and explore the subject.

What did President Harry Truman do?

What did President Harry Truman do? He created Majestic 12.

He created Majestic 12.

He created the National Security Act.

He created the National Security Council

and he created the CIA, all at the same time

in response to this threat.

The U.S. government decided it needed to have

a main central oversight committee that

would handle the so-called alien problem.

The mission of MJ-12 was to decide on what the United States

government policy should be towards aliens

and extraterrestrials, what it should be towards

releasing the information or keeping it secret.

And they were empowered to ultimately decide everything

regarding the presence of aliens on the planet Earth.

NARRATOR: President Eisenhower's great- granddaughter Laura Eisenhower

claims that the Majestic 12 was a real organization

and that her great-grandfather had no choice but to continue

what his predecessor Harry Truman had started.

President Eisenhower was definitely in a very

challenged position, as far as how to handle

the exopolitical issues going on.

He was actually a scapegoat or somebody

everybody could later blame for some of the things

that are happening that is actually MJ-12.

This is the hidden, shadow government.

He wasn't able to do anything about it.

But the ones that were close to him knew

that he was going to put out this information

that he was going to put out this information for the public.

for the public.

And it got shut down.

They even had a planned date, and nothing ended up happening.

NARRATOR: March 1994.

Almost a decade after Jaime Shandera received

the Eisenhower briefing document, Majestic 12

researchers are shocked when a second roll of film surfaces.

This time it is sent anonymously to a UFO group in Maryland from

Quillin's drugstore in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Investigative journalist Linda Moulton Howe

was among the first to examine these documents,

and she has been conducting research

on MJ-12 for more than two decades.

In April 2017, ancient astronaut theorist

Giorgio Tsoukalos traveled to Albuquerque,

New Mexico, to meet with Linda and find out

what she knows about these mysterious documents.

TSOUKALOS: So, if I understand this correctly, the first

documentation of the MJ-12 files came in the form of

35 millimeter negatives that somebody at some point took

photos of a document that existed in paper form.

Do we know who did this, who took those photographs?

Throughout my experience as a reporter,

there are people who have served in the military or CIA,

DIA, NSA, NRO, and they are out there,

and they have grudges,

they are angry, they feel that this story should

come out or that they have been infringed against.

And in this case, this might have been somebody who had

this manual in their work, photographed it maybe right

there at the pharmacy, and the rest is history.

Of all the documents that I've ever seen and studied,

it is this "Restricted SOM1-01

Majestic 12 Group Special Operations Manual"

that I think is really confirmation.

It goes beyond disclosure.

Because this is April 1954,

Majestic 12 Group.

It's the War Office stamp, it is real.

And the title: "Extraterrestrial Entities

"and Technology, Recovery and Disposal.

Top secret. Majic eyes only."

And in here Majic is defined

as the top, the highest national security

clearance in the United States.

TSOUKALOS: This is sensational.

NARRATOR: Did the United States government learn about

an alien presence on Earth in the 1940s

an alien presence on Earth in the 1940s and devise a top secret

and devise a top secret

committee to investigate this shocking revelation?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and suggest

further examination of the MJ-12 documents reveals

that the government was not only aware of extraterrestrials

but also interacted with them.

NARRATOR: Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Ancient astronaut theorist Giorgio Tsoukalos

is at the home of Linda Moulton Howe.

As they continue to review

the Majestic-12 Group Special Operation Manual,

Linda explains what she finds most compelling

about the top secret document that surfaced in 1994.

This, to me, this is the best document that's been leaked.

It's called "Restricted SOM1-01 Majestic 12 Group."

And all of us, when we first saw that title,

"Extraterrestrial Entities and Technology,

Recovery and Disposal," one of the first things that

everybody wanted to do was find out, okay,

did they use this stamp in 1954 from the War Office?

Turns out that they did, all the way up into the '60s.

And one of the more important pieces,

I think, is, as you go through here,

they found in a government printing office...

Take a look at this-- this is from a blowup where

they were doing a test,

they were doing a test, and look at this "unauthorized"

and look at this "unauthorized"

and look at what happens to that "Z." It raises slightly.

- Right. - So, Bob went to the government

printing office and found a guy named McCarter,

who was printing in the GPO in Washington, D.C.

in 1954.

And he took one look at this text

and he said, "This was done on a monotype.

"I used it. And the 'Z' would collect dust,

and that's why the Zs would print raised."

So, different steps have been taken to

- authenticate this document. - Yes.

The fellow I spoke to, he fortunately had been a long,

longtime employee of the public printer...

...and had actually worked on the kind of presses

that he thought were appropriate for this document.

He said, "Based on the printing I'd say it clearly was printed

"on one of the presses in this building or in this

basement of the Pentagon in 1954," which is what it says.

And then, when you start getting into

And then, when you start getting into what is in this book,

what is in this book,

you have the illustrations and sketches

of four different categories of different craft, UFOs.

And on this page, here are the discs, here is

a long cigar shape, which is described in this

document as being up to

a thousand feet in diameter, and then

this one, the ice cream cone, and this, the triangle.

And there is a paragraph in here that implies that we are

dealing with collaboration.

That there must be some agreement between

the United States and the extraterrestrials.

- Really? - There is, on this page 17,

- Really? - There is, on this page 17, it's under chapter five.

it's under chapter five.

And it goes into, "A. Encounters initiated by

"the extraterrestrial biological entities.

"Possible contact may take place as a result

"of overtures by the entities themselves.

"In these instances it is anticipated that

"encounters will take place at military installations or

other obscure locations selected by mutual agreement."

- By mutual-- Wow. - Yeah. This is 1954.

NARRATOR: According to the Majestic 12 documents, the men who made up

this group and were in communication with beings from

other worlds included top scientists, government

officials, and high-ranking military personnel.

One of the interesting members of MJ-12 was Doctor--

One of the interesting members of MJ-12 was Doctor-- Professor Donald Menzel...

Professor Donald Menzel...

...who actually had written three books on the subject

that had the general flavor of debunking it.

And I read this book and I said, here's a guy

who's allegedly a PhD

in physics, but he's obviously ignoring the data.

I'm highly confident that Dr. Menzel

was working in a counterintelligence mode.

He was intentionally trying to deceive the public

He was intentionally trying to deceive the public that there was nothing to it.

that there was nothing to it.

So I personally met him, shook hands

with him, and carefully avoided any discussion of UFOs.

And he knew perfectly well that we had

recovered a number of crashed flying saucers.

Let's go to one of these that is so

important, to July 4, 1947.

Look, see those all-cap letters, IPU?

- Date: 04 July '47. What was happening... - Roswell.

- Date: 04 July '47. What was happening... - Roswell.

...that we know? Exactly.

IPU stands for Interplanetary Phenomena Unit?

That's it. And this is, "Directive

to Lieutenant General Twining from Dwight Eisenhower."

- Wow. - In the general chain of command.

And what he's doing is, "You will proceed to

"the White Sands Proving Ground Command Center without

"delay for the purpose of making an appraisal

of the reported unidentified objects being kept there."

This is not only

disclosure, it's confirmation.

I mean, that's incredibly fascinating to me.

And in many ways, Giorgio, this is one of the more

And in many ways, Giorgio, this is one of the more astounding documents because this is

astounding documents because this is

General Nathan Twining, and what is he talking about?

"Upon examination of the interior of the craft,

"a compartment exhibiting a possible atomic

"engine was discovered.

At least this is the opinion of Dr. Oppenheimer."

Robert Oppenheimer, the one who made the bomb.

NARRATOR: Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer is often credited

as being the father of the atomic bomb

for his work on the Manhattan Project.

"A possibility exists that part of the craft itself

"comprises the propulsion system,

"thus allowing the reactor to

"function as a heat exchanger and permitting the storage of

energy into a substance for later use."

And what they mean, we all today have a bit of an idea that

you could have an entire craft be both the propulsion system,

the craft system.

It might even be a point-to-point,

go through dimensions and timelines in the UFO.

That's 21st century discussion.

This is back in the week of the discovery

of the bodies and the craft.

- I mean, that-- this is sensational. - It is.

NARRATOR: While the Majestic 12 documents may provide

proof that the U.S. government employed its top

scientists to examine extraterrestrial craft in

the military's possession,

it would be the development of catastrophic weapons

of mass destruction that would trigger

an alien intervention.

NARRATOR: Kazakh Republic, Soviet Union.

August 29, 1949.

At a secret testing site four years after the end of

World War II, the Soviets become only the second country

in the world to successfully detonate an atomic bomb.

Code-named First Lightning, the bomb signals to the West

that the Soviets are capable of matching

the nuclear might of the United States.

After the first Soviet nuclear test,

After the first Soviet nuclear test, the United States begins to react.

the United States begins to react.

And begins reacting by developing newer and more

powerful weapons, developing more effective delivery systems.

In other words, once the Soviets set off their

first nuclear test, a nuclear arms race begins.

NARRATOR: Desperate to stay ahead of the Soviets,

the U.S. races to develop a vastly more powerful

device... a hydrogen bomb.

This devastating new weapon is first tested

underwater near the Marshall Islands in 1952.

The colossal yield is terrifying.

Over 700 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb.

But the size of the new weapons hardly deters UFO sightings,

which occur before, during and after these explosions,

although the public is never informed.

Time and time again, when bomb tests

are conducted, there are UFOs.

Something that we are doing seemingly

is grabbing the attention of the UFOs

or the intelligence behind the UFOs.

NARRATOR: The U.S. Air Force is so concerned that in 1952,

Look magazine runs a story entitled

Look magazine runs a story entitled "Hunt for the Flying Saucer,"

"Hunt for the Flying Saucer,"

detailing a secret Air Force investigation

into a rash of over 800 UFO sightings.

The article points out that an Air Force map

of the UFO sightings duplicates "exactly

the area of atomic energy installations."

It also reports that the government is distributing

200 special cameras to atomic plant guards,

hoping to photograph the mysterious intruders.

We have eyewitness testimony from

all sorts of different branches of military...

...from people who are sworn under oath,

and there are trained observers that

witnessed these massive disc-shaped objects come in,

hover over top of these nuclear facilities.

And this, of course, would have been a breach

And this, of course, would have been a breach of national security.

of national security.

This would have gone all the way up the food chain

to the very, very top, about how these craft are

actually interfacing with our nuclear warheads.

NARRATOR: Does the sheer volume of sightings suggest that as

the threat of nuclear war grew, extraterrestrials became

increasingly concerned about the fate of the Earth?

Could they have been looking for ways to save mankind,

perhaps by disabling its nuclear weapons?

Ancient astronaut theorists believe that

such an audacious notion is possible

and point to evidence that, as the arms race escalated,

these aliens became more than just observers.

Vandenberg Air Force Base.

September 1964.

The Air Force prepares to conduct

a series of test launches

of intercontinental ballistic missiles,

known as ICBMs,

from this base along the central coast of California.

These powerful missiles reduce the time

it takes to strike the Soviet Union

from 12 hours in a B-52 bomber to a mere 30 minutes.

MORGAN: Suddenly, all it takes is a go order, and the weapons launch.

Within a split second, a thermonuclear attack

goes downrange toward the opposition.

NARRATOR: In order to film the Vandenberg missile tests,

Air Force cameraman Lieutenant Robert Jacobs

set up an ultra-light sensitive telescopic camera

124 miles northwest of the base, in the forest above Big Sur.

MISSION CONTROL: Lift off.

NARRATOR: After filming the launch, Lieutenant Jacobs brought

the raw footage back to Vandenberg for analysis.

The next day, Jacobs' commanding officer,

Major Florenz Mansmann, showed him the newly developed film.

To Jacobs' shock, a UFO zoomed into in the frame

To Jacobs' shock, a UFO zoomed into in the frame and traveled alongside the ICBM

and traveled alongside the ICBM

at over 8,000 miles per hour.

BASSETT: The rocket launches perfectly, first stage falls off,

second stage falls off, third stage falls off,

and now you've got the-the dummy warhead.

Suddenly a craft, very disc-like, moves into

the screen and starts maneuvering around it.

And it seems to fire a beam at this dummy warhead.

It burned up in the atmosphere.

The test failed.

The rocket was destroyed or knocked off course.

Now, if true, this would be direct

intervention on the part of a UFO,

to disrupt, perhaps destroy,

one of our weapons tests.

They invited the CIA to come in and see it.

The CIA said, "Very interesting, we're gonna take that film,

and you're-- This never happened."

Jacobs had records, he had actual records

of what he did that day,

and Major Mansmann denied his story at first.

He later on supported it, so it's a supported story.

NARRATOR: To this day, the government denies

that any such film footage exists.

But if so, why would two highly trained

military professionals make up such a story?

BASSETT: It's notable that, after this, Dr. Jacobs started getting

lots of harassing phone calls,

and other harassments, including his mailbox blown up.

and other harassments, including his mailbox blown up. So somebody was not happy.

So somebody was not happy.

I believe that film still exists, and I think

one day we will see it.

NARRATOR: After Vandenburg, the rash of interference

with nuclear missile facilities only increased.

Four years later, at Minot Air Force Base in 1968,

Four years later, at Minot Air Force Base in 1968, a UFO reportedly removed

a UFO reportedly removed

the massive cover from a missile silo.

SALAS: This object had literally removed the cover

SALAS: This object had literally removed the cover from the launch facility.

from the launch facility.

It was a 20-ton concrete steel cover that could only be

removed through explosive bolts or taken off on rails.

NARRATOR: What do incidents like those at Vandenberg,

Minot and other nuclear facilities mean?

Could extraterrestrials interfere

Could extraterrestrials interfere with our national security?

with our national security?

And if so, how much does the White House know

about the government's alien secrets?

NARRATOR: Lauderhill, Florida. January 1973.

The 37th President of the United States,

Richard Nixon, is entering his fifth year in office,

mired in a seemingly never-ending

military conflict in Southeast Asia.

military conflict in Southeast Asia. MORGAN: Richard Nixon was under

MORGAN: Richard Nixon was under

a great deal of pressure by 1973.

He was heralded into office with the recognition that

he would be our savior from Vietnam.

he would be our savior from Vietnam. He gets into office

He gets into office

basically promising the American people,

basically promising the American people, "I'm going to get you out of that."

"I'm going to get you out of that."

But I do promise action.

A new policy for peace abroad. A new policy for peace

and progress and justice at home.

MORGAN: And then what does he do when he gets into office?

He expands the military mission in Vietnam.

NARRATOR: To escape the daily rigors

of his tumultuous presidency,

Nixon schedules a golf outing with his friend Jackie Gleason,

the famous actor and comedian who starred

in the 1950s hit TV series The Honeymooners.

Nixon and Jackie Gleason, they were very good friends

and frequently played golf together-- in Florida, usually.

And Nixon knew that Jackie Gleason was known

And Nixon knew that Jackie Gleason was known to be very big UFO buff.

to be very big UFO buff.

He had probably one of the largest libraries

on the subject in the world at that time.

EISENHOWER: His house was designed to look like a,

a UFO, and same with his guest house.

He was always asking, you know, Nixon questions,

and Nixon, you know, disclosed a lot to him.

NARRATOR: According to an article written by Beverly Gleason,

who was Jackie Gleason's wife at the time,

the actor's golf outing with the president

led to an extraordinary experience.

Hours after Gleason returned home,

a limousine arrived unannounced.

Who's in the car? It's President Richard Nixon.

And by the way, there's no Secret Service.

He tells Gleason to climb in. "This is your dream."

They drive to an Air Force base in Florida.

And what does Nixon show Gleason?

He shows him alien artifacts...

...pieces of a UFO,

and a dead alien in cold storage.

When he got home, he told his wife all about it.

What he had seen, and how Nixon had taken him there.

And he told other people.

I actually got the interview with Beverly Gleason.

We actually interviewed her.

She stayed to the story.

Jackie was very shaken up when he came home after this thing.

And he was very angry when she made public

the fact that he had seen these bodies.

BASSETT: This is extremely important because it indicates that

almost certainly Nixon was fully briefed on the ET issue.

And if the president wants to go see an ET body,

by God, he's going to get to see one.

And if he's got Jackie Gleason with him, fine.

NARRATOR: When his ex-wife's story was published in 1983,

67-year-old Gleason remained silent about it.

So, too, did Nixon.

Is it possible that the incredible story is true?

UFO historians suggest

that Nixon's actions led to a clampdown

on the information shared with future presidents

and what they were allowed to say publicly.

Leary, Georgia.

October 1969.

Attendees of a local Lion's Club meeting spot

a mysterious object hovering in the night sky.

Among the witnesses is

future President of the United States Jimmy Carter.

HOLCOMBE: At the time, Jimmy Carter was standing outside

with a group of men, and they saw

a great orb, uh, in the sky.

Something very unusual that changed color from orange

to a bluish color and back again and-and grew in size.

NARRATOR: Nearly four years later, Carter remained so intrigued

by what he witnessed that he filed an official report

with the National Investigation Committee

on Aerial Phenomena, or NICAP.

CAMERON: Jimmy Carter, when he was running for president,

he had made the promise, "If I become president,

he had made the promise, "If I become president, I will release all the files."

I will release all the files."

POPE: What happened? He was elected president,

and then he walked it back, and he said,

"Well, maybe there are some UFO sightings

"that have national security implications,

and perhaps not everything can be released."

BASSETT: The question is, what role have presidents played in

maintaining this truth embargo, authorizing it, and so forth?

Well, that's somewhat dependent upon

whether they were briefed or not.

Truman was briefed on everything that happened

at Roswell and anything else ET related.

Eisenhower absolutely would have been briefed in full.

Kennedy, maybe not. Nixon we think was briefed.

Carter stonewalled, and so forth.

One of the stories that's been floating around

the UFO community is that the Democrats don't get a proper

briefing because they don't have the connection to the military

the way the Republicans... The Republicans know more.

the way the Republicans... The Republicans know more. So, the story has always been

So, the story has always been

that Jimmy Carter didn't get

told anything, Bill Clinton

didn't get told anything.

But Ford, Reagan and Bush all knew what was going on.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that there is a party bias when it comes

to what an incoming president is told about the UFO phenomenon?

Or could Jimmy Carter have been denied access

to government UFO files because he had promised

to release them to the public during his campaign?

As the nuclear arms race halted with the end of the Cold War,

national intelligence regarding extraterrestrials would compel

American presidents to devise a plan to protect the U.S.

from the threat of an alien invasion.

NARRATOR: Merced, California.

September 19, 1974.

California governor Ronald Reagan,

along with his security detail, boards a Cessna aircraft

bound for a fundraising event in Bakersfield.

As the aircraft reaches an altitude of 35,000 feet,

Governor Reagan is startled by a mysterious orb of light

which appears to be flying alongside his plane.

Ronald Reagan was flying in an airplane,

and had an encounter with an unidentified flying object.

He asked the pilot to follow it.

They followed it for a period of time.

They followed it for a period of time. Reagan is enthusiastic about this.

Reagan is enthusiastic about this.

When he lands,

he says, "I just saw a UFO."

He's not just being crazy; he saw the UFO.

He's not just being crazy; he saw the UFO. He knows exactly what it is.

He knows exactly what it is.

The pilot that corroborated Reagan's sighting

was Air Force Colonel Bill Paynter, who claimed

that the UFO appeared to elongate,

and then rapidly shoot up into the sky.

HOLCOMBE: Some years later, the pilot was asked

did he really think that Reagan believed in UFOs?

And the pilot said, "After what we saw

And the pilot said, "After what we saw "in the sky that night,

"in the sky that night,

how could anybody not believe in them?"

NARRATOR: According to historians, it was this incident

that sparked Ronald Reagan's lifelong interest

that sparked Ronald Reagan's lifelong interest and belief in UFOs.

and belief in UFOs.

But unlike other politicians

who suffered ridicule for such beliefs,

Reagan did not, and for a very simple reason.

His closest aides kept him from speaking publicly about

his UFO experience and his belief in extraterrestrials.

his UFO experience and his belief in extraterrestrials. HOLCOMBE:

HOLCOMBE: The people that worked for him really tried to keep Reagan

HOLCOMBE: The people that worked for him really tried to keep Reagan under control, so to speak,

under control, so to speak,

because they knew that he was very interested in this subject

and wanted to talk about it publicly.

So they had to kind of keep the lid on it, if you will.

NARRATOR: But did the UFO sighting influence

Ronald Reagan's policies after he became

the 40th President of the United States?

And, if so, could this have also been due to the fact

that, once elected, he was given even more direct knowledge

of an extraterrestrial presence here on Earth?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes,

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, and for proof they point

and for proof they point

to a mysterious document that surfaced in 2005.

I became exposed to a very, very important document...

...that March 6 to 8, 1981,

then brand-new President Ronald Reagan was

taken by his new CIA director, William Casey, to Camp David.

With them were analysts from

With them were analysts from the CIA, the NSA, DIA.

the CIA, the NSA, DIA.

And this briefing boiled down

to an introduction to Ronald Reagan

of extraterrestrial species that William Casey

was saying, "Sir, you need to understand

that we are dealing with others on this planet."

NARRATOR: Curiously, throughout his presidency,

NARRATOR: Curiously, throughout his presidency,

Ronald Reagan brought up the subject

of what would happen in the case of an alien invasion,

most famously in 1987, when addressing

the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Perhaps we need some outside universal threat

to make us recognize this common bound.

I occasionally think how quickly

our differences worldwide would vanish

if we were facing an alien threat

from outside this world.

And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force

already among us?

TSOUKALOS: Reagan was the first one who said publicly,

it just needs one extraterrestrial threat,

and that would bring together the entire planet.

So, you have to ask yourself the question,

So, you have to ask yourself the question, did he know something?

did he know something?

NARRATOR: Is it possible that Ronald Reagan knew the truth

about extraterrestrial activity on Earth, and then

kept the facts a secret for fear of creating a global panic?

As far as many researchers are concerned,

further evidence that President Reagan had knowledge

of an alien presence can be found by examining one of his

most high-profile and controversial initiatives:

most high-profile and controversial initiatives: "Star Wars."

"Star Wars."

On March 23, 1983,

U.S. President Ronald Reagan launches

the Strategic Defense Initiative.

Nicknamed "Star Wars," its stated purpose

is to deter a Soviet attack

by basing defensive weapons in outer space.

I have approved a research program to find,

if we can, a security shield that will destroy

nuclear missiles before they reach their target.

Isn't it interesting that this man, who had this

encounter in 1974, is the man who then,

less than a decade later,

authorizes the Strategic Defense Initiative,

authorizes the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as Star Wars.

also known as Star Wars.

If you'll pardon my stealing a film line,

If you'll pardon my stealing a film line, the Force is with us.

the Force is with us.

NARRATOR: But was defending the United States against

Soviet nuclear aggression Ronald Reagan's only motivation?

Some believe that the real purpose

Some believe that the real purpose of the Star Wars campaign

of the Star Wars campaign

was to fight extraterrestrials.

It's all about arming planet Earth so that if

the extraterrestrial presence suddenly turns hostile,

we have the military hardware to resist.

NARRATOR: While Ronald Reagan's Star Wars program

was dissolved in 1993,

some researchers believe it set the nation

on a course for taking the next crucial step towards

connecting with other intelligences.

President Donald Trump reveals the official logo

for the newest branch of the armed services, Space Force.

With my signature today,

you will witness the birth of the Space Force.

And that will be now officially the sixth branch of

And that will be now officially the sixth branch of the United States armed forces.

the United States armed forces.

the United States armed forces. That is something really incredible.

That is something really incredible.

NARRATOR: The USSF, an offshoot of the Air Force,

was established by the Trump administration

to oversee military operations beyond the Earth's atmosphere.

POPE: One of President Trump's most famous initiatives

relates to the Space Force.

Inevitably, the UFO community have said,

"Well, this is about the aliens."

This is almost a carbon copy of what happened under

Reagan's presidency with Star Wars.

MORGAN: Trump's announcement that the United States

MORGAN: Trump's announcement that the United States

is going to have a Space Force

says something important about what he knows

as the president of the United States.

There have been disclosures since he became president

that seem to suggest that his move

in establishing a Space Force has merit.

Space.

There'll be a lot of things happening in space.

Because space is the world's newest war-fighting domain.

NARRATOR: The final push to create a Space Force

came just months after three leaked military videos

of unidentified aerial phenomena became widely circulated online.

CAMERON: The Navy goes in and shows Trump three videos: the Go Fast,

the Gimbal, and the Tick Tack video,

and basically give him the video.

So what is Trump going to say?

"So what is it?"

And they had to have said, "We don't know, Mr. President.

"We're working on it. We're working on it.

"We're working on it. We're working on it. We don't know. We know it's for real."

We don't know. We know it's for real."

NARRATOR: Could the formation of Space Force indicate that we are

nearing the point when an American president will

finally reveal to the world that aliens are among us?

The escalation of the UFO presence has stimulated

the awareness of the world, driving the process forward

towards an announcement or confirmation

by government, which I call disclosure.

One of the fundamental purposes of the modern era

is to get the world to the point where it will

confirm the presence of these extraterrestrials.

Once the world has had some time to adjust

to that new, profound information,

open contact then becomes not particularly dramatic.

HOWE: In 2019 onward, I think we're not in disclosure,

I think we're in confirmation.

The White House and the Department of Defense,

they are watching what the Navy pilots are reporting.

NARRATOR: The leaked U.S. military UFO videos set

a series of unprecedented events in motion,

including a request from the Senate Intelligence Committee

for the creation of a public report detailing information

on what the government knows about "Advanced Aerial Threats."

But demands for information would not

come strictly from elected officials.

come strictly from elected officials. In an age of information,

In an age of information,

the public was also rallying to find out what secrets

remained hidden behind the gates of Area 51.

NARRATOR: Bakersfield, California.

NARRATOR: Bakersfield, California. June 2019.

June 2019.

College student Matty Roberts creates a post on Facebook.

In it, Roberts calls on his friends

to storm the top secret U.S. military base called Area 51...

a place that has long been rumored to be

housing crashed extraterrestrial spacecraft.

As part of the post, Roberts invites his readers

to click to indicate if they're attending.

I had shared it to my own personal Facebook page,

and I think it amassed probably about 40 RSVPs, the people that

were interested or had tagged themselves as going.

NARRATOR: Roberts has no idea whether the post will simply reach

his own circle of friends and acquaintances on Facebook,

or if it will spread further into cyberspace.

He gets his answer two days later, when his phone

begins buzzing with RSVP notifications.

First a few hundred, then a few thousand.

ROBERTS: It just kept kind of snowballing.

It took about three days for it to really take off

and it just took off like wildfire,

And then, that's when it got posted on Reddit,

and when it got posted on Reddit it really took off.

NARRATOR: Within a week, the number of RSVPs soars to over a million.

And then, on July 11, the news got ahold of it.

Now a new Facebook event talks about organizing

a large mob to raid the base.

They were trying to organize a big mob to storm

Area 51, where all the aliens are.

Officials are saying, "Stay away,

this is not something you want to go to."

this is not something you want to go to." NEWSMAN:

NEWSMAN: There are even signs that warn it's a restricted area,

that it's unlawful to enter the area without permission,

and that use of deadly force is authorized.

and that use of deadly force is authorized. In short, don't go.

In short, don't go.

NARRATOR: News commentators point out

NARRATOR: News commentators point out that if even a small fraction

that if even a small fraction

of those who responded show up,

the proposed storming could quickly turn violent.

Alarmed at the overwhelming response to Roberts' post,

U.S. military officials issue a warning.

In ominous language,

it states that "The U.S. Air Force

always stands ready to protect America and its assets."

Within days, Matty Roberts gets a visit from the FBI.

ROBERTS: FBI did show up to my house.

They asked me to send them to anybody that's trying

to radicalize this thing, in the form of actually storming

the base and actually causing harm to people.

And they were really concerned about people

sending me death threats.

NARRATOR: In the wake of the FBI's visit, Roberts claims that

he was joking all along, and that he never actually

intended for anyone to heed his call.

ROBERTS: I was just kinda like, I didn't think anybody was gonna

take it too seriously, 'cause when I created the event

on Facebook, it was meant as a joke,

kind of like tongue-in-cheek.

Never intended for it to go this far.

It was terrifying.

NARRATOR: But whether Roberts wanted people to take him seriously

or not, by early July, it seemed

nothing could derail what he had set in motion.

Matty Roberts' original post has now been

reposted hundreds of thousands of times.

Over two million people have indicated they plan to descend

on Area 51 in September and storm the top secret base.

No one has any idea how many might actually attend,

and both the government and the media gear up to blame Roberts

if things turn into an ugly confrontation

between the military and tens of thousands of UFO enthusiasts.

In order to take the pressure off of himself

and his associates, Roberts asks that his followers call off

any plans to actually invade the base on September 20.

POPE: In the weeks before the event,

there are efforts aimed at

scaling down the rhetoric and averting a potential tragedy.

BIRNES: The government just did a whole counter media program,

letting folks know that they're not taking

this as a game, they don't think it's funny.

You cross Area 51, we take it seriously,

you will be arrested, prosecuted,

likely convicted and sent to jail.

KEVIN ALMEIDA: I think behind those gates is something that

nobody can explain, not even the people that work there.

I have no answers, but I'm gonna find out.

That's why I came here, 3,000 miles.

To find out those answers.

NARRATOR: Faced with the military's willingness to defend Area 51

at all costs, many potential attendees

change their plans and decide not to attend.

But while the government warnings are largely effective,

on the night of September 20, nearly 100 people refuse

to be intimidated, and gather at the gates.

(indistinct chatter)

ZACH ETKIND: I think behind the gate there could very well be,

uh, technology

that the government is not informing us of.

There's a lot of people that are, like,

watching this event being, like, this is the night,

this is the night we find some aliens.

- MAN: They can't catch us all! - (all shouting)

KYLE KALLMAN: People are prepared for a bloodbath,

but I have seen nothing.

The cops have been out in a show of force,

and they are gonna make it

and they are gonna make it very unpleasant for anybody who crosses.

very unpleasant for anybody who crosses.

NARRATOR: Both sides show restraint,

and a potentially deadly confrontation is averted.

Only two people are detained by authorities for minor offenses.

Over the next three days, approximately 3,000 more people

make the journey to Area 51 in a show of solidarity

and in protest of government secrecy.

There's a huge alien community around the world.

It was a matter of time before this was gonna happen.

I don't think the government's being honest,

'cause I think they would freak us out if they told us

what was inside that big ol' mountain there.

NARRATOR: But there are many who believe that without

the serious threat of military action,

the turnout might have been significantly larger.

MARTELL: The government caused a lot of confusion and pretty much

discouraged most people from showing up to the event.

NARRATOR: Was the public gathering at the gates of Area 51

the first step of what will become

a more deliberate push for the U.S. government

to finally reveal the truth

about extraterrestrial contact,

exposing secrets kept hidden since the 1940s?

Or is disclosure already underway,

as evidenced by the curious and historic publication of

the groundbreaking report about unidentified aerial phenomena?

NARRATOR: The Pentagon's UAP Task Force,

along with the Office of

the Director of National Intelligence,

submits to Congress its long-awaited report.

Entitled "Preliminary Assessment:

Entitled "Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,"

Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,"

the simple nine-page report

represents the most direct and substantive

U.S. government account of UAPs ever made public.

The headline is that out of 144 reported encounters,

only one UAP was identified as a large, deflating balloon.

The other reported UAPs remain unexplained.

I thought that report was tremendous.

A tremendously important step forward.

To me, it says two things.

UFOs are real, and two, they're not ours.

UFOs are real, and two, they're not ours. I thought that was an astonishing report.

I thought that was an astonishing report.

And it spoke volumes.

We got 144 cases. We can't figure out 143 of them.

It's monumental. I mean, it is a watershed moment.

We're giving cover and relief for folks who are in

the intelligence community now and work for our government,

and folks who have served,

and pilots who can now talk about this thing.

It's only a preliminary assessment.

It's only a preliminary assessment. Some people in the UFO community were

Some people in the UFO community were

a bit disappointed because it wasn't disclosure.

But what it did say was, I think,

But what it did say was, I think, very encouraging and important.

very encouraging and important.

It essentially said that whatever UFOs are,

some of these sightings

some of these sightings demonstrate advanced technology,

demonstrate advanced technology,

and this, in one sense, is a form of disclosure.

It's certainly taking this

further than it's ever been taken before within government.

further than it's ever been taken before within government. It's quite an admission.

It's quite an admission.

NARRATOR: Of the 144 reports that the UAP Task Force reviewed,

NARRATOR: Of the 144 reports that the UAP Task Force reviewed, the bulk of the sightings

the bulk of the sightings

had occurred between 2019 and 2021,

after the Navy reporting protocol was put into effect.

But perhaps what is most compelling is the revelation

that out of the 144 reported UAP sightings,

only one sighting has been explained.

Only one out of them has been shown to be spurious.

That indicates to me that we're sitting on a gold mine,

A gold mine of incidences that

cannot be explained using the normal metrics.

We're talking about incidences that are beyond

the stretch of our imagination,

that indicate new laws of physics opening up.

And we physicists are just dying to get access to it.

NARRATOR: The report established five potential

explanatory categories: Airborne clutter.

Natural atmospheric phenomena.

U.S. government or American industry developmental programs.

Foreign adversary systems.

And a category for UAP reports

that require additional analysis, simply called "Other."

"Other" simply means beyond the known technologies

of today, which could be extraterrestrial or who knows?

of today, which could be extraterrestrial or who knows? But I think the military is now admitting

But I think the military is now admitting

"other" could mean extraterrestrial.

NARRATOR: Although the word "extraterrestrial"

never appears in the report, many observers believe

it contains one very profound statement.

There's a bombshell quote in the report that a lot of people

have missed, and it says, essentially,

that we may have to fundamentally change

our understanding of the laws of physics

to figure out what's going on here.

"We may require additional scientific knowledge

"to successfully collect on,

"analyze and characterize some of them.

"Pending scientific advances that allow us

to better understand them."

This is not a sci-fi novel. This is a government report.

That was the thing that most stuck out to me as jaw-dropping.

Our current science, our current tech

can't understand some of these.

The government said that. Wow.

Additional scientific knowledge could mean

knowledge beyond the known laws of physics.

knowledge beyond the known laws of physics. In other words, a technology

In other words, a technology

thousands of years more advanced than ours.

NARRATOR: The UAP report received mixed reactions

from the public.

Some were stunned by the government's admission

that it couldn't explain so many of the unidentified objects seen

in the sky, while others felt it contained nothing of substance.

But for UFO investigators, the report represented

validation that was long overdue.

The UAP report that came out in June 2021

was revolutionary for the world of UFOs.

Because, for the first time

in the history of the United States,

the government of the United States has

released a statement in which

the whole UFO question is addressed.

And the bottom line is that the U.S. government

knows what our adversaries are capable of.

And in this report, it says it's not them.

HOWE: I have more hope.

It doesn't change the dangerous relationship

that I have with several whistleblowers who have,

I am telling you, substantial information,

not about just one type of non-human.

There are a lot.

That's the part that keeps astonishing me.

NARRATOR: The publication of the

Unidentified Aerial Phenomena report,

along with the declassified Navy videos,

marks the largest public disclosure of the possible

existence of extraterrestrials in U.S. history.

In the wake of the report, politicians like Marco Rubio,

Mark Warner, Adam Schiff, and Andre Carson

have called for further funding and study.

There's voluminous data available,

but the report really just skimmed the surface.

It just said, we're gonna need more time to look into this.

There's a history that's going back to the early years

of the 20th century, at least,

not even talking about the sightings going back to

the Bible and literature of other cultures

going back thousands of years,

going back thousands of years, talking about unexplained things in the sky.

talking about unexplained things in the sky.

But just in our era, there have been many documented

But just in our era, there have been many documented accounts which they chose not to deal with,

accounts which they chose not to deal with,

so they just took a very narrow slice of this.

We don't want to trivialize this matter.

We want to make sure we remove the stigma

while engaging with some of our civilian organizations

who are seeing these things.

And working with the government in ensuring that,

if it is otherworldly, we will have internal controls

in place to protect us and to engage in the event

that that happens in a healthy and safe way.

NARRATOR: The majority of unidentified aerial phenomena data

came from the U.S. Navy,

but efforts are underway to standardize incident reporting

across all government services and agencies.

The UAP Task Force plans to expand to include

The UAP Task Force plans to expand to include the Air Force and the FAA,

the Air Force and the FAA,

and use Artificial Intelligence to analyze new data.

We're talking about a standardization by which

pilots are now going to be opening up floodgates.

Floodgates of these sightings are now going to be analyzed

by physicists and by scientists, and I think that is

a sea change in the way we deal with these things.

HOWE: Let's have a real congressional hearing.

Let's hear from real physicists and real scientists.

That's my personal dream.

And I would like to be there in the congressional hearing,

standing by with my evidentiary material

as an investigative reporter, to contribute,

and hoping that there would be so many others,

and that we would finally,

finally, in a government of, by and for the people,

just finally have everybody tell the truth.

TSOUKALOS: What's really fascinating is that in the 1960s,

Erich von D�niken proposed in Chariots of the Gods that

aliens would show up

aliens would show up when Earth civilization would reach

when Earth civilization would reach

a certain level of technology.

And with everything that's going on right now,

this may be the time when we will make contact.

ERICH VON D�NIKEN: Some thousands of years ago, the extraterrestrials

ERICH VON D�NIKEN: Some thousands of years ago, the extraterrestrials

promised to return in a faraway future.

And we have good reasons to believe that now they are back.

More and more of these proven UFO cases appear to the public.

Before, it was never shown to the public.

We know we are not alone, we are under observation,

and it must be extraterrestrials because

they show a technology which we do not have.

NARRATOR: Now that the United States government

has officially acknowledged that it is

investigating unidentified aerial phenomena,

might even more incredible revelations be on the horizon?

Are we being prepared to learn the whole truth

about a long history of interaction

about a long history of interaction between the U.S. military

between the U.S. military

and visitors from other worlds?

PILOT: Look at that thing!

PILOT 2: It's rotating!

Perhaps the floodgates to full disclosure

will not be opened by leaked material,

congressional investigations or public demands,

congressional investigations or public demands, but rather by the actions

but rather by the actions

of the extraterrestrials themselves.

of the extraterrestrials themselves. CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS

CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS

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