The Storm Area 51 viral movement has been around long enough to question whether anyone was serious about the whole thing. It turns out that yes, a great many people were serious. News teams in Rachel, Nevada are reporting on the large gathering. Controversy has split and shrunk the event's audience compared to initial plans, but nevertheless people are showing up.
Storm Area 51 began when local DJ and community college student Matty Roberts created a Facebook event titled "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us." The event's description, what's become a popular meme, reads, "If we Naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens." Roberts eventually canceled the main Storm Area 51 event, describing it as a FYREFEST 2.0 waiting to happen, and instead hosted a big Las Vegas rave. However, Roberts' earlier partner, the Area 51-themed motel Little A'Le'Inn persisted.
According to the inn's owner, Connie West, 250 campsites around the location had been prepaid for today's event. Event attendees are already gathering, with many likely to remain through the weekend. A second location in Hiko, Nevada is also gearing up for an event named the Storm Area 51 Basecamp. One of the event's runners describes it as the place to go for "true believers," not those looking for a "rave in the desert."
For the time being, it doesn't appear that any Storm Area 51 attendees, no matter which individual event they're attending, have gone so far as to try trespassing into the Air Force's Area 51 base. One reporter managed to catch on video an attendee practicing their Naruto run, however. Basically, it seems like most attendees are having fun with the event. They're treating it as the joke that was clearly implied in the initial event's announcement description. Hopefully, the events remain safe through the weekend.
Unfortunately, the Storm Area 51 event's announcement already led to two arrests in recent weeks. Two Dutch Youtubers were arrested trespassing on the Air Force base's grounds, and were found with footage of the installation recorded via a drone's camera. It seems likely that some people involved in this weekend's Storm Area 51 event are serious about trespassing. Hopefully, the lighthearted attitude of the events keeps them entertained and distracted and no one gets hurt in this viral meme that's grown well beyond anyone's expectations.
Source: New York Times, Reddit