FBI, US Air Force special agents reportedly seized computers, cameras, and damaged property
A Nevada blogger reporting for years on the highly classified military base Area 51 said he’s still feeling “traumatized” after FBI and U.S. Air Force agents raided his homes with a search warrant early in November.
“I was never given a reason for the raid—nor have I been charged with a crime,” said Joerg Arnu, owner of the Dreamland Resort website, which covers topics related to the heavily guarded airbase commonly known as Area 51.
Arnu said that “without warning,” joint agents of the FBI and Air Force Office of Special Investigations “busted open” the doors to his homes in Las Vegas and nearby Rachel and “ransacked” his property on Nov. 3.
In an email update to The Epoch Times, Arnu said the raids caused “significant damage” to both homes.
“All my computer equipment, several laptops, backup drives, camera gear, a drone, and many other items were seized,” Arnu said. “My girlfriend and I, two unarmed, innocent, cooperating senior citizens, were manhandled like hardened criminals, and we are still traumatized from the events.”
Arnu feels the raid was to “send a message” to Area 51 researchers and discourage others from looking too deeply into the subject.
Area 51 is the top-secret military installation located at Groom Lake within the Nevada Test and Training Range in southern Nevada. The base is a Nellis Air Force Base unit about eight miles northeast of Las Vegas.
A spokesperson at Nellis referred comment on the apparent raid to the AFOSI public affairs office, which did not return an email requesting comment from The Epoch Times.
“Nellis Air Force Base is aware of the joint-AFOSI (Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations), FBI investigation involving Mr. Arnu,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon McGarry told Business Insider.
The FBI’s field office in Las Vegas did not immediately respond to the Epoch Times’ request for comment.
Area 51 has been the focus of widespread speculation of alien visits and UFO cover-up theories for decades, culminating in an internet joke movement to “raid” the facility in 2019. About 1.5 million people signed on for the event.
The U.S. government finally admitted to the site’s existence in 2013.
“The remote area, which is part of an active military base, patrolled and guarded by some of the heaviest security on Earth or anywhere else, has a long history of reported UFO sightings,” according to TravelNevada.com.
A 25-year Area 51 researcher from Germany, Arnu launched the Dreamland Resort website in 1999, logging over 8 million visits. His site features the latest reports and updates related to Area 51, including high-resolution aerial photos and panoramas near the location.
Arnu said the joint raid left him without a computer, phone, medical and financial records, passwords, and digital contacts. He feels he has “zero chance” of being reimbursed for the damage and is doubtful federal authorities will release his property.
Arnu declined further comment when contacted on his home phone by The Epoch Times. In the meantime, he has launched a GoFundMe page to raise $9,000 to replace and repair his equipment.
“I have substantial expenses to buy replacements for the most essential items, such as a laptop and a new phone. I also have to pay for the repair or replacement of three doors and other items such as destroyed furniture,” Arnu said on the webpage.
As of Nov. 22, the site had raised more than $2,000 in donations.
Arnu said the raid has left him feeling the federal government “has the right to harass and traumatize random citizens that are not accused of any crime. Kick in their doors, manhandle them and take whatever they want from them.”
“I have not been charged with a crime, and all my attempts to reach out to the FBI to at least get my much-needed medical and financial records and passwords stored on the seized computers were in vain. Crickets from the feds,” Arnu said.
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Allan Stein is an Epoch Times reporter who covers the state of Arizona.
