Many of us might remember the strange incident from 2019, when social media erupted with a particularly bold and surprising call to action: to storm Area 51 and discover what exactly was going on behind closed doors at America's most secretive military base. Given the magnitude and hype surrounding the incident, and its occurrence at a time when internet culture was already at its peak, it was pretty obvious that someone, somewhere, was documenting the whole thing in great detail. The latest episode of the Netflix documentary series, Trainwreck, presents the full incident and the people involved in the two-part Storm Area 51 episode.
The first moments of the strange and frenetic Storm Area 51 event began with a podcast episode on The Joe Rogan Experience in June 2019, in which two ufologists, Jeremy Corbell and Bob Lazar, discussed America's most secretive military base: Area 51. Lazar claimed to have worked as an engineer at this highly confidential facility on a classified government project, during which he allegedly saw UFOs and alien spacecraft being kept for research at the base.
Stars: Matty Roberts, Guy Malone, Kerry Lee
This podcast episode proved particularly intriguing to Matty Roberts, a 21-year-old from Bakersfield, California, who was fascinated by the secret experimentation taking place there behind closed doors. The military base had already sparked great interest and speculation among the masses, especially in the internet age, and Area 51 was, and still is, one of the most talked-about topics on internet forums.
Matty was an ordinary person in real life, working at a vape kiosk in the Valley Plaza mall, barely serving any customers. But he had a stronger presence online, especially on Facebook, where he ran his own page titled "Shitposting, because I'm in shambles." Perhaps like any modern young person, Matty was tremendously interested in internet memes and the culture surrounding them, and "shitposting"—posting intentionally mean, stupid, and sarcastic content online—gave him a sense of belonging and importance. Simply posting about random, insignificant things in a fun way, while maintaining complete anonymity, was the best form of expression for Matty at the time, as he admits in the documentary.
Matty was so used to not having to interact with any customers at the vape stand that he spent most of his work hours standing up, browsing the internet, watching memes, and YouTube videos. It was around that time, about a month after the Joe Rogan podcast episode was released, that he stumbled across it by chance, and its content stayed with him throughout the day. That night, as a simple and crazy post, he decided to create a Facebook event from his anonymous page, inviting people online to gather in front of the Area 51 facility and then enter it at a predetermined date and time. It's very common to see jokes and humor (debatable in some cases) with a very serious tone on the internet these days, and Matty wanted to maintain that same humorous tone in his post, giving it the impression of an official and serious call to action. So, he created an event titled "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us" and set the date for September 20, 2019, at 3:00 a.m.
His basic idea, or the one he preached with sarcasm and joking, was that the public should take action to find out what exactly was going on behind the closed doors of the military base and see if there really were abducted aliens. Since the US military has always taken a very no-nonsense approach to dealing with trespassers and enthusiasts at Area 51, with multiple cases of trespassers being shot and killed immediately, Matty added the second part to the event title. He meant that if millions of internet users were to gather there, the authorities simply wouldn't be able to stop them, or rather, kill them all. Obviously, Matty Roberts had no intention of mobilizing people for such a dangerous and reckless cause, which could cost many people their lives, and his post was only meant to make people laugh. But the internet is often very difficult to understand or evaluate, especially when it comes to young people who take seemingly unserious things at face value, so Matty wasn't expecting any response to his event, especially since his spam posting page only had about 40 followers at the time. He couldn't believe his eyes when he checked the event page the next morning, as over a thousand people had already signed up and marked themselves as attendees.
A little nervous about the implications of such an event page, Matty told his mother, Malinda Ortega, about it a few days later, and she, of course, advised him to delete the page or at least tell them straight out that it was a joke. Matty still felt he could use his wit to communicate with like-minded people, so instead of writing a direct message, he added another sarcastic joke: if everyone did the Naruto run (from the manga and anime Naruto), they'd be too fast for the authorities to catch. But, just like before, Matty's joke made the story go viral online, as even more people identified with the terms and references mentioned. The event went viral on YouTube and Instagram, and the digital media group Vice also covered the event page, asking street youth for their thoughts. Within a few weeks, the "Storm Area 51" page had over a million people signed up to participate. Built as part of the Nevada Nuclear Test Site and currently used as a development and testing center by the United States Air Force, Area 51 is located far from human settlements, with the nearest inhabited area being the small town of Rachel. With only 50 residents, Rachel is more of a neighborhood than a town or village, but it still receives a fairly high number of tourists compared to other surrounding areas, due to its status as the last stop before the elusive Area 51 base. A modest restaurant and inn called the Little A'Le'Inn happens to be the only suitable resting place in the vicinity of the base, so its owner, Connie West, has inspired her establishment with an alien theme. Despite being the most visited place in the entire area, Connie's business only has ten rooms and a sizable restaurant, plus a camping area, which she says is always sufficient considering the tourist traffic.
However, this situation changed completely in July 2019, when she started receiving calls every minute seeking reservations for September 20th. While the ten rooms were booked with only one guest on the phone, Connie booked over 500 camping spots in just 24 hours. Initially confused about what was going on, Connie eventually learned about the event that had been created and how it had gone viral worldwide. Although in the Netflix documentary she claims to be quite upset and angry with Matty for doing something so reckless, she actually seemed interested in boosting her business in any way possible, and rightfully so. Major media outlets across the United States caught wind of the planned event and flocked to Rachel to speak with the residents, with Connie thrilled to be hosting such a large crowd.
By then, Matty had revealed his identity to the public, refusing to remain hidden behind his anonymous spam page and wanting to make the most of the situation. Therefore, he had planned to organize a massive party in the desert outside Area 51, which people would attend before attempting to break into the military facility. Matty contacted a Las Vegas promoter known as Disco Donnie, who agreed to organize the party, and together they met with Connie West at the Little A'Le'Inn. Seeing this as an even bigger opportunity for her business, Connie agreed to rent out the area around her restaurant for the party. They soon also created a website for the event, giving it an alien theme and calling it "Raid Rachel," likely to gauge how many people were seriously planning to participate in the "Raid Area 51" event.
However, the website also caught the attention of other Rachel residents, who did not want something so reckless to take place in their hometown, and a team of residents, led by Joerg Arnu, decided to oppose the planned event. After unsuccessfully attempting to calm Connie down, the residents informed the sheriff's office about the situation and then brought the matter to the county commissioners, calling an urgent meeting. During the meeting, a vote was taken, and unfortunately for Joerg and his group, the majority voted to allow the party and event to go ahead. Most residents wanted to make sure they were doing their part to keep the situation from getting out of hand, and the most likely reason for their decision was that they knew the young men wouldn't abide by their decision and would try to sneak in anyway.
The only direct measure authorities could have taken to prevent the event was to contact the man responsible for this disaster, Matty Roberts, and threaten him into canceling the whole thing. Two FBI agents then visited Matty and his mother, which was enough to change the young man's mind. He quickly shifted his attention from the raid to the music festival he'd been planning, now dubbing it Alienstock. But organizing an event of this magnitude required a significant amount of funding, which Disco Donnie understandably refused to provide, as it was still a huge risk. While the team managed to secure $70,000 through sponsorship—curiously, from a major adult video streaming website—they faced more problems.
Connie West had already incurred expenses worth around $100,000, and as the bills piled up in her name, she refused to pay the amount and instead wanted Donnie to take care of them. However, Donnie refused to cover the costs, and that's when the group dissolved. Connie brought in new promoters from Las Vegas, led by a man named Frank DiMaggio. Donnie wasn't willing to work with Frank, whom he considered suspicious and unreliable, so he abandoned the plan, quite happily, as he now admits. There was a second rift when Frank asked Matty and Connie for proof of funds to ensure he could recoup his expenses. Although Matty had virtually no money, Connie refused to open her bank accounts to the stranger, and that's when the original plan split into two separate events.
Just a couple of weeks before the scheduled date, Matty announced that he and Frank would be moving the Alienstock stage (which was also renamed Area 51 Celebration) from Rachel to Las Vegas, a much safer place to hold a party and attract people, with much better infrastructure. Although the essence of the party, held near Area 51, had been lost, it was still an alien-themed party, and it quickly attracted several high-budget sponsors. Meanwhile, Connie continued preparing for the real Alienstock music festival in the middle of the desert, trying to raise as much money as possible.
What ultimately happened outside Area 51 on the night of September 20th was terribly disappointing, as only a few hundred people showed up for the raid, which was supposed to be attended by 3.5 million people, according to the Facebook event. Most of those who had signed up were clearly joking, while those who arrived at the scene and had the supposed Naruto run toward the gates, only to stop before causing trouble, clearly understood that the military and authorities weren't messing around. Although in Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 it seems like everyone who signed up for the assault took it as a joke, as they didn't want to risk themselves with the military, it's really difficult, if not impossible, to judge young people (or people in general) on the internet. At least a potential crisis was averted, and the approximately 3,500 people who attended the original Alienstock festival had a great time. The Las Vegas party, meanwhile, drew 10,000 people and was considered a huge success.
Following the fiasco, Connie West sued Frank DiMaggio and won a whopping $3.4 million, as she was able to prove that the promoter had illegally stolen from Matty after she organized her party. Frank openly states on camera that he's not willing to pay Connie the money and that he'll never give her anything, even if he's willing to go to jail for this decision. Meanwhile, Matty Roberts earned the least money of all, despite having masterminded the whole thing. Matty earned only $1,700, also from selling T-shirts, and had to return to normal just a week later.
Storm Area 51 ends with Matty stating that he returned to working at the vape stand in the Valley Plaza Mall immediately afterward, with no other source of income. The documentary offers no updates on his current whereabouts, and no recent interviews with him are found online, suggesting that he has truly returned to his normal life, with Storm Area 51 merely a brief highlight in his otherwise monotonous existence.
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