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Groom Lake Desert Rat no 22.
The Groom Lake Desert Rat Issue #22 is posted here with the permission of the
author, Glenn Campbell.
Posted By Michael Curta [MUFON]
****Note this file has been edited to combine two parts into one.
THE GROOM LAKE DESERT RAT. An On-Line Newsletter.
Issue #22. February 23, 1995.
-----> "The Naked Truth from Open Sources." <-----
AREA 51/NELLIS RANGE/TTR/NTS/S-4?/WEIRD STUFF/DESERT LORE
Direct from the "UFO Capital," Rachel, Nevada.
Written, published, copyrighted and totally disavowed by
[email protected]. See bottom for subscription/copyright info.
In this issue...
TALES OF THE TEST SITE, PART 1
KNAPP SPEAKS IN LAS VEGAS
NELLIS "UFO" ON HARD COPY
ANOTHER SOURCE COMES FORWARD
ACCUSED TRESPASSERS FOUND GUILTY
CAMPBELL TRIAL MARCH 3RD
SERIES OF HIKES PLANNED
INTEL BITTIES
[Note: This issue has been sent in two parts. The first ends with
a "CONTINUED" notice and the second ends with "###".]
----- TALES OF THE TEST SITE, PART 1 -----
Having resided near the border of Area 51 for over two years now,
we have collected our share of UFO stories. The bulk are reports
of lights in the sky which we can't do much with. We have seen
many interesting lights ourselves, but we know what they are--
usually military flares associated with the frequent combat
exercises here. Even when we hear a light-in-the-sky story that
seems unworldly, we are still at a loss for how to proceed. How
can we investigate something anomalous when there is nothing in
our known world to correlate it with?
The universe will always be filled with unexplained phenomena.
The perpetual nature of life is that we are playing at the shore
of an ocean of the unknown. We'll die long before we figure out
most of life's mysteries, so the challenge is to focus on the ones
that are reasonably accessible. With a million different
questions to answer, we can only devote our time to the few that
we have a handle on, that we can connect in some way with the
knowledge base we already have.
Lights in the sky don't do it for us. Even aliens landing on
earth are hard to investigate if they don't bother to sign the
guest register. UFO researchers have been collecting such
isolated sighting reports for nearly fifty years now, and where
has it gotten them? About all we can conclude (if we were
inclined to conclusion) is, "Yes, they're here." The exact nature
of the phenomenon and what it means to humanity remains lost in
noise and confusion.
That is why we came here. Area 51 is the intersection of UFOs and
humanity. It doesn't really matter to us if UFOs are real: We'll
accept things either way as long as it is the truth. The
important thing is, the human response is real. This is the place
to understand how people deal with UFOs, real or imagined,
teaching us what we can trust about human witnesses. Just to
watch people respond to the flares is an education. The walls of
the Little A'Le'Inn--where all the UFOs are real--are covered with
photos of flares, lens reflections and aircraft lights, and
hundreds of "UFO-tourists" have seen these phenomena and come away
satisfied. We have seen aircraft lights shown as UFOs on national
television, edited together so slickly that we'd be inclined to
believe it ourselves if we hadn't been there at the filming. We
have seen people attribute complex motivations and communication
to ambiguous lights with an uncritical reverence that can only be
described as religious. All of this has made us profoundly more
skeptical about human perception and the reliability of publicized
and televised UFO reports.
At the same time, Area 51 has turned us into a true believer in
another aspect of the UFO phenomenon: The notion that the U.S.
government could keep UFO information secret for close to fifty
years. We used to say that this was the least credible aspect of
ufology: If UFOs are real, then the military with all its
advanced aerial surveillance equipment is bound to know more than
the general public, and such an explosive secret could not remain
secret for very long.
Now, we don't think it so far-fetched. Security here remains
formidable. The most effective measure: Former workers in
sensitive positions can be required to take lie detector tests for
years after their employment. It would also be easier to keep
such a fantastic secret than something more earthly, like the
illicit affairs of the President. Something unbelievable can
almost be hidden in plain sight without anyone noticing, since
people have nothing to relate it to. It is our conviction that if
the government is trucking with aliens, then the truth has already
been printed in "The Weekly World News" but no one noticed. For a
fantastic secret, security does not have to be perfect, because
even if bits of it leak out they will not be taken seriously, and
they will quickly be buried in our cultural noise.
..... WHY HERE? .....
This we believe without reservation: If the government has ever
possessed alien spacecraft, whole or in pieces, it would have at
some point brought the hardware here to the Nevada Test Site, Area
51 or the surrounding Nellis Air Force Range. This vast
restricted area, known collectively as the "Test Site" to locals,
has certain unique advantages unmatched anywhere else in the country...
-- A vast government-controlled reservation, larger than
Connecticut and Rhode Island combined, with many isolated valleys
and canyons in which to hide and operate anything you want. The
expanse of empty land would also provide a safety buffer when you
are playing with something unknown and are not sure if it is going
to blow up.
-- Intense pre-existing secrecy and physical security for nuclear
testing, aircraft development and military exercises.
-- Access to an exceptional labor pool. In the years of post-war
atomic testing, the country's greatest minds were focused on the
Nevada Test Site. Most of them held top-secret clearances and
could easily be diverted to programs other than atomic development.
If you believe in Roswell or any other saucer crash scenario, then
you have to believe that the Test Site played a role afterwards.
Perhaps it is time the Desert Rat got graphical at last....
*Tonopah
+---------------------+ "Home of the
! ! Area 51 Research
! *TTR +-+ / Center"
! +----+ /
! ! *Rachel
! Nellis Range +------+
! ! *W.S.
! @ ___ !*F.R. *Tikaboo
! / @ \ +----+ +------+ *
\_ + +--@---+@51 ! ! Alamo
\_ ! +----+ +-----+
\_ ! ! @Papoose ! !
\_ ! Nevada ! Lake (S-4?) ! !
\_ ! @ Test ! ! !
\_ ! Site ! Nellis !Natl !
! ! ! Range !Wild-!
Beatty* ! ! ! !life !
+-! @ ! !Refg.!
! Mercury ! Indian ! !
+------ *+-+ Springs +-+ !
\---! +---*-- ! !
\__ ! !
\--! !
@=decent places to house aliens \ !
(closed access and no bombing) \_____!
Scale: !----------! = 25 miles Las Vegas *
Note that Area 51, where the Groom Lake base is located, is only
one small section of the Restricted Zone--about one percent of the
land area. Area 51 has attracted attention because there is a
very large and obvious nonexistant facility there. The Groom base
probably isn't the best place to house your aliens or saucers,
however, because it is too "busy," with lots of workers coming and
going on other projects.
..... APPROACHING THE CLAIMS .....
The relatively low credibility of sighting reports around Rachel
has little bearing on the core claim that aliens or alien craft
have been stored and studied at the Test Site. If the government
wants to keep something secret, it is going to take the obvious
precaution of not performing as billed. We think some of the more
subtle aliens-at-the-Test-Site stories deserve serious study. We
are not announcing that they are true, mind you, but some of them
have enough depth and plausibility to be an interesting challenge.
More importantly, we find the Test Site stories worthwhile because
we can connect them with our current knowledge base. Any
operation at the Test Site requires government cooperation. Any
government involvement creates records and witnesses. While we
may not be able to understand the agenda of the aliens, we can
divine the motivation of the humans dealing with them and thereby
make predictions about the operations of the program.
Here at our Research Center, we approach the aliens-at-the-Test-
Site stories as "folklore." We are not saying they are fiction.
We only mean that our approach is different from, say, an
investigative journalist who wants to know right away whether a
specific claim is true or false. When a fantastic claim reaches
us, we do not expend as much effort verifying it as we do in
simply understanding the story itself. Rather than assuming a
story is false until proven true, we proceed as though it were
true, collecting information about it until we reach a
insurmountable roadblock or inconsistency.
Our theory is this: The truth holds together over time, while
lies and misperceptions fall apart on their own. The truth, even
if a government secret, is supported by a million connections to
the outside world, and over time many of these connections are
bound to emerge just by our being open to them. A lie or fantasy
is supported only by the inventiveness and brain capacity of the
person telling it. No person's mind, no matter how brilliant or
twisted, can reproduce all the rich interconnections of reality.
A liar may be able to generate a story that sounds good on the
surface, but closer inspection will eventually reveal glaring
internal flaws and probably a irate and defensive storyteller.
As long as a story remains interesting in itself, like a well-
constructed novel, we are willing to set aside the issue of truth
and go along for the ride. Truth, we figure, will resolve itself,
and a well-crafted story can usually teach us something even if it
turns out to be fiction. Still, there are a lot of fantastic
claims floating around, more than we can possibly pursue, so how
do we choose which one to look into? We have several criteria....
1) The story must promise significant physical connections to the
known human and physical world. We can't do much with lights in
the sky, alien abductions or any other disconnected experiences.
They could be real, but we don't have any avenue to approach them.
We DO know how to approach government programs and other
activities that involve more than one human: That's gumshoe work,
which is often very frustrating but at least we know who we are
dealing with.
2) We must respect the storyteller. This criteria is a
composition of many factors: Is the witness rational and reliable
in areas unrelated to his story? Is he trying to push his
religion or philosophy on us or trying to impress us with his
importance? Does he know how to listen? Is he open to
alternative explanations for his experiences? Can we identify
with him personally? All of these questions boil down to the
affinity we feel for that person. If we dislike someone, then we
feel unmotivated to pursue his story no matter how compelling it
may seem in itself.
3) The story must be connected to our areas of expertise. We
cannot investigate Roswell or Gulf Breeze; we are not there and do
not have the necessary background information to know the good
stories from the bad. Only here, close to home, do we know the
local language well enough to process the story and make
conclusions from it.
4) The storyteller must be accessible to us directly, if not in
person then through unedited transcripts and correspondence. We
do not trust what we see on television, videos or most magazine
articles. We can't work with sound bites; we need access to the
whole testimony, from as close to the firsthand source as possible.
A number of stories have come to us which fulfill these criteria.
Of course, Bob Lazar is the catalyst who created this frenzy, but
there are other witnesses who seem to confirm at least parts of
Lazar's claims. These stories remain unverified and don't prove
anything, but they do seem to fit together into a coherent whole.
At least they flesh out the plot of the prominent "folklore" at
the Test Site: the housing of alien craft.
For readers who are new to this field, Bob Lazar is the Las Vegan
who appeared on a local TV station in 1989 to claim that he had
worked with alien spacecraft at Papoose Lake, just south of Area
51. His story was coherent and well-crafted, with an internal
consistency that is rare in fiction. Unfortunately, problems in
verifying his background have shot down Lazar's credibility in the
eyes of most. (His claim of having attended MIT and Cal-Tech
seems dubious.) Still, the story is superior in itself, and we
have not let go of it. Lazar has picked the perfect location for
his saucer base, real or imagined. We know two former workers at
Groom who confirm that Papoose Lake was off-limits and that there
was indeed some sort of highly secret project going on there.
[Campbell's Feb. 1994 MUFON Journal article on Lazar is available
as LAZAR.TXT at the FTP site.]
..... SUMMARY OF THE PLOT .....
We shall discuss some of our non-Lazar sources in future Rats.
Taken as a whole, here is the scenario they support. We don't
have proof for any of this, but it would at least make a good
script for "X-Files."
1) Alien spacecraft indeed crashed in the southwestern U.S. in the
late 1940s and 1950s. There were multiple crashes.
2) Along with craft and bodies, there was at least one live alien
recovered. That recovery took place in 1953.
3) The captured craft were taken to the most secure and isolated
location the government had at the time: the Nevada Test Site. At
some point, the live alien or aliens ended up here, too.
4) The intellectual center of alien research was the nation's
premiere brain trust: Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico.
5) In the 1950s, a government program was set up to deal with all
the UFO and alien information the government was collecting. It
was modeled after the Manhattan Project. This program was given
wide autonomy and was separated from every other government
agency. All the UFO information held by other agencies, including
the military, was turned over to it. Most officials in public
government today are unaware of the alien program. For forty
years, the project was successfully hidden behind the cloak of
Cold War security, as a secret world within a secret world.
6) Eventually, communication was established with the aliens.
Over the years, aliens and the government agency have engaged in
varying levels of cooperation and trade. Relations have
frequently been strained, however, mainly as a result of the
humans not living up to whatever agreement they made.
7) As part of the trade, the aliens have given the government
agency some of their less sophisticated spacecraft. It is not
clear what the aliens get in return, but they do have a need for
certain minerals.
8) The government agency has long been engaged in a program to
reproduce the alien craft. Sources conflict as to whether the
program has actually been successful.
9) Flying saucers have been regularly flown from the "Test Site,"
but it is unclear whether the craft are "ours" or "theirs." It is
also not clear whether any saucers are housed there now.
10) The aliens known to the government agency are classic Grays,
but there may be more than one sub-species of Gray, each with
different agendas.
11) There is no reason to suppose that the aliens known to the
government agency are in any way threatening to us. They are
described as distant and businesslike. There is no indication
that they are manipulating our society, media or government, but
they do exert their influence on the secret agency, cooperating
with it only as it suits them.
12) The secret agency is currently suffering from a critical
shortage of skilled labor, as people retire who were with the
program from the early days. Younger candidates seem unwilling to
tolerate the rigorous security regulations, which require that
workers surrender much of their personal privacy and civil rights.
...So that's all it is. Just your run-of-the-mill secret saucer
program, nothing to get excited about. Again, we emphasize that
we are not out to verify anything. The important thing about this
story, at least as a mind game, is that it doesn't present any
major inconsistencies with what we know is true. As long as one
can tolerate the premise that aliens might visit earth and have
something to trade, the rest seems plausible. The idea that the
government could keep such a secret for fifty years becomes easier
to swallow if you suppose that the research program that held all
UFO information was segregated from the rest of the government
from the beginning.
So what do we intend to do with this folklore? Nothing really.
We'll proceed "as if" the story is true and look for new
information that will tell us more about it. If the story is true,
isn't it the biggest news event in the history of mankind? Don't
the people have a right to know? Yeah, yeah, we've been through
all that in DR#20. We believe that if the story is true, it will
come out only when it "wants" to come out, when society has
reached a level of maturity where it can take such an event in
stride. It doesn't help to get outraged and try to force the
disclosure. It will happen when it happens, and given the labor
crunch and fall of the Soviets, it might be soon.
More in the next issue of the Rat.
[CONTINUED IN NEXT DOCUMENT]
[Part 2 of Groom Lake Desert Rat #22. (2/23/95)
Continued from previous document. This file ends with "###".]
----- KNAPP SPEAKS IN LAS VEGAS -----
On Feb. 1, George Knapp gave a UFO lecture Feb. 1 at the
Charleston Community School in Las Vegas. (Knapp is the former TV
newsman who first reported the Bob Lazar story on a Las Vegas TV
station in 1989.) There were about 50 people at this free 2-hour
talk. It was not recorded, but following are some minutes, as
recalled by Campbell....
In the first hour, George discussed his findings from his trip to
Russia about a year and a half ago. He and Brian Gresh arrived
there just as Yeltsin was beginning his showdown with parliament.
Knapp describes this as a one-time "window" in which Russian UFO
files could be obtained. Knapp thinks that the window has since
closed due to the country's new ultranationalist leanings. [Note:
An article on Knapp's visit appears in MUFON Journal, Oct. 93]
Overall, this information seems to pretty much parallel the UFO
story in the U.S.--and is no less murky and inconclusive.
Some remembered highlights...
-- Knapp purchased all of the UFO files of the country's most
prominent UFO researcher, who had collected these reports
officially for the government for many years. Knapp says this
official probably had access to more UFO reports than anyone else
in the U.S.S.R., but Knapp also noted that reports this researcher
received were first cleared by KGB agents, so it is possible that
some cases were filtered out and handled differently (perhaps like
Bluebook supposedly handled only the tamer UFO reports in the
U.S.--Ed.). These files purchased by Knapp were all unclassified.
Knapp also obtained some classified reports, including....
+ Reports on the alleged Roswell crash from Soviet agents in New
Mexico at the time. The reliability of the sources is unclear.
+ Reports on UFOs seen by cosmonauts, and extensive reports of
encounters with UFOs by military jets. Several jets crashed as a
result. During one UFO incident in 1983, the launch codes were
entered into the computers at an ICBM missile site, much like the
incidents reports at bases along the US-Canadian border in 1978.
+ Reports on official scientific analyses of crash sites and crop
circles. At landing sites, all single-celled micro-organisms in
the soil were found to be "missing"--not just dead, but missing
altogether. Plants were found to suffer measurable physical
changes. At one site, tiny (almost microscopic) glass-like beads
were found. Knapp brought some back to the U.S. and has been
trying to have them analyzed. Results have been inconclusive so far.
-- One scientist in the Ministry of Defense demonstrated for
Knapp (and his TV camera) a device he call "the weapon of the
aliens," the "plasma beam." On the tape that Knapp showed at his
talk, the scientist sets a razor blade on a device the size of a
shoebox and that supposedly has no power supply. There is a "pop"
and suddenly there is a hole in the razor blade. (What the box
contains and what caused the hole is unexplained. It is probably
within human technology to do this if the box contained a charged
battery or capacitor.)
-- Remote viewing (ESP) research has been officially sponsored by
the government, and the subject came up numerous times on Knapp's
visit. Knapp helped connect a Russian official in this field with
a U.S. one, and he said they are now cooperating on some kind of
joint venture. The Russians seem to be ahead of the U.S. in this
area. Knapp's says he saw part of a training film on remote
viewing, but didn't understand it due to the language problem.
-- Knapp said he heard nothing about cattle mutilations while in
Russia, but did hear of abductions and crop circles. Knapp says he
had heard about alleged alien hardware in Russian possession--
pieces of saucer wreckage, etc.--but never saw any.
-- UFO studies continue in Russia today.
The remainder of Knapp's talk was a question and answer period,
including....
-- A questioner recalled Bob Lazar's claim that (according to
briefing papers) the Russians had been engaged in a joint saucer
research program with the Russians, but the Russians got kicked
out. The questioner asked if Knapp had any new info on this from
his Russian trip. Knapp said he didn't.
--Knapp said he continues to believe Lazar, but acknowledges that
most people do not.
--A questioner recalled that in Knapp's TV broadcasts on Lazar,
Knapp said he had other witnesses that essentially confirmed
Lazar's story but that wouldn't go on camera. Could Knapp give any
more info on these sources?
Knapp said that his primary witness in this regard was "a member
of a prominent Nevada family" (NOT the Lear family) who had
retired from a management position for a major contractor at the
Nevada Test Site. (Note: Our first guesses would be EG&G or
REECo.--Ed.) Over many months, Knapp dragged only a few bits of
information out of this source. The source confirmed that the U.S.
had housed downed alien flying saucers at the Nevada Test Site
since 1953--a couple of years before the founding of Area 51. The
source also said the U.S. had held a single live alien at the Test
Site. When asked for a description, the source would say only that
the alien bore a physical resemblance to a prominent human
political figure.
Knapp was forced to guess. Richard Nixon? Spiro Agnew?
No, Ross Perot!
From Knapp's description, the source seemed to be indicating that
the "Ross Perot" alien had been held against its will. Knapp was
told that the source had videotaped a deposition concerning the
cover-up to be released upon his death, and a family member had
confirmed this.
-- George says he has communicated with a senior congressional
aid with clearance to handle nearly all black projects that pass
though Congress. This aide believes the government UFO program is
real, but doesn't have proof. The aide wants heads to roll when
the truth is known. (Which is not the best inducement to bring the
information forward. --Ed.)
-- Knapp agreed that the more he gets involved in UFO research,
the more confused he is about what is really going on.
-- Knapp says that he is no longer working for Alta Mira
Communications, which produced his latest video series, but he
does do commentary pieces for KLAS-TV in Las Vegas on a part-time basis.
-- Knapp says that sales of his new UFO video tape series have
been disappointing and will not come close to recouping the
enormous costs of the project. [For info on purchasing the tapes,
write to UFOs: The Best Evidence, P.O. Box 2249, Livonia, MI
45151, 800-575-5525. --ed.] Knapp says he is working on a book
compiling some of the Russian material.
[Editor's note: Although the captured alien did not look like
Richard Nixon, Nixon's name has come up in another regard.
Perhaps in a future Rat...]
----- NELLIS "UFO" ON HARD COPY -----
On 2/17, Hard Copy broadcast some video clips of a hovering "UFO"
over the Nellis Range taken by tracking cameras attached to
ground-bases targeting radars used in Red Flag exercises. The
object seen in the clip was as ambiguous as most UFO photos and
videos: a black, blimp-like object moving smoothly across the sky.
Clips from more than one camera were shown. The object seemed to
have some structure to it, but the definition was poor and it was
difficult to conclude anything from the clips. Interviewed on the
segment was a source in shadow, referred to as "Steve," who had
supposedly worked with F-117A's on the Nellis Range. Steve said
that the tapes confirmed what he had already known about UFOs. It
was not clear whether he was the source who had provided the tapes.
What distinguished these videos from the endless parade of blurry
home videos shown on tabloid TV was the display, superimposed on
the picture, giving direction, time, distance and radar return of
the object, as well as voices, apparently of the crew operating
the radar. We were particularly intrigued with a scene that
included two radar domes on a mountaintop. These should be easily
identifiable. A correspondent of ours who is familiar with the
west side of the range thinks they may be on Tolicha Peak, Quartz
Mountain or Black Mountain.
Following the broadcast, we contacted the analyst interviewed on
the segment, Chuck de Caro, a defense journalist who had produced
a CNN program on the Bentwaters UFO incident. He said Hard Copy
had hired him as a consultant to check the validity of the tape
and source who delivered it.
He said the source seemed legitimate--a former AF employee
motivated more by cash than idealism. The source had not actually
seen the UFO himself. The tapes delivered to Hard Copy (on VHS)
were re-recorded and were probably a couple of generations down.
They came from tapes that are taken routinely during air combat
exercises. The video cameras are attached to the threat radars
("enemy" radar sites that our pilots seek to destroy or evade) to
provide feedback on pilot and radar effectiveness. The camera
always points where the radar is pointing. De Caro thinks the
incident took place several years ago, perhaps around 1990 or 1991.
De Caro suggested that the tapes got into circulation because the
radar crews failed to report the incident. The tapes were treated
as "outtakes", as most are, and were recopied and passed around
quietly among the workers. The tapes sold to Hard Copy included
several segments taken at different sites. Each segment was about
a minute long--clearly not the whole thing--so de Caro did not
have the benefit of seeing the objects appear or disappear.
De Caro suggested that the cameras were infrared. (Confirmed by
the time shown on the screen, which was night, although the
picture appeared like day.) He noted that since an infrared photo
records different phenomena than visible-light photography, the
apparent flaring of the object when seen from below could be the
outflow of heat sources on the craft.
De Caro said there could be many different earthly explanation for
the object, but he still regards them as interesting: At least
they might reveal some new kind of aircraft. We remain skeptical
of the object ourselves but are interested in what it tells us
about range operations.
----- ANOTHER SOURCE COMES FORWARD -----
We just received this message by email from an anonymous source.
For accuracy, we reprint it without editing:
"the big wow!!! happened the signal was received & area 51 &
groom & s4, the pentagon's covering it up!! & semi-recentely at a
crop circle formation they found a pure gold object with an
ancient version of writing on it. when translated it says the gods
are coming back. experts said it couldn't have been made by our
species cause it's too perfect. you'll be interested to know there
is a gentleman at ucsd in san diego that's been able to translate
those crop circle formations into music. the whole j.f.k thing's a
cover-up i'll tell you who really killed kennedy it was area 51 &
groom lake & s4 and a whole number of other parties due to the
fact he was gonna tell the world of what's really going on in erea
51 & groom & s4 & kennedy also told marillyn monroe & that's why
she wound up dead. the reason the 18 minutes of the watergate
tapes dissapeared is cause they were discussing area 51 & groom &
s4 & all their other black programs. re: the pyramids in egypt &
everywhere except vegas's luxor were built with the help of the
aliens think about it we didn't have the technology back then to
build them. it wasn't til present day that we evolved enough to
build luxor. more later"
[There it is in a nutshell--and Nixon, too! --Ed.]
----- ACCUSED TRESPASSERS FOUND GUILTY -----
[Press release issued by the Area 51 Research Center, 2/15/95]
Two Utah residents, accused of crossing the military border near
the popular Freedom Ridge viewpoint in Lincoln County, were found
guilty of trespassing Feb. 15 in Pahranagat Valley Justice Court.
Ryan Chivers and Jason Winget of Salt Lake City had been arrested
on Dec. 1 by a Lincoln County Sheriff's Deputy on Groom Lake Road
several yards inside the Nellis Range military border, about 12
miles east of the secret Groom Lake military base.
The defendants, representing themselves, argued in court that the
place where the deputy arrested them was not where anonymous
Nellis Range security officers first detained them. The
defendants said they believe they did not cross the border until
Nellis security officers marched them there.
The prosecution, represented by Asst. District Attorney Scott
Waite, presented no evidence or witnesses to pinpoint the location
where the two were detained or to show that is was on military
land. None of the anonymous security guards who originally
captured the two appeared in court. Only the arresting officer,
Sgt. Douglas Lamoreaux, appeared as a witness for the prosecution.
Sgt. Lamoreaux arrived at the scene of the arrest only after the
two were detained by security forces and brought to the road.
The anonymous security guards wear camouflage fatigues without
insignia. Although they have no apparent authority on public
land, they have been known to detain citizens there. Most
recently, on Jan. 2, a Yucaipa, CA, resident, Bruce Hedquist, says
he was detained on public land for 20 minutes by security
personnel. The security patrols threatened to arrest Hedquist for
turning his car around just inside the Keep Out signs, but he says
he was on public land when detained.
In trial testimony, Chivers and Winget admitted approaching a
tripod on a hill near the border, but testimony at the trial
established that there were several in the area and that they are
frequently moved. The defendants acknowledged that they did not
know exactly where they were at the time they were detained by the
security guards, but since they remained well behind the keep out
signs, they felt it was on public land.
Chivers and Winget said that they had intended to hike to Freedom
Ridge, a popular viewpoint on public land beside the border, and
had no intention of crossing the border. This was not refuted by
the prosecution. Winget also acknowledged, upon cross-examination
by Waite, that they were both fully aware that crossing the border
could be punishable by "use of deadly force," and that they
therefore had no intention of doing so.
Both the arresting officer and the defendants acknowledged that
the night was dark and that it was virtually impossible to see the
narrow orange posts that mark the border. Testimony at the trial
acknowledged that the actual border ran diagonal to the road and
not directly perpendicular to the signs, but no evidence was
presented to indicate its exact location. Deputy Lamoreaux said
that he thought the border ran, "to the southwest," which is
incorrect, since the border is shown running north-to-south on
USGS maps.
Prosecutor Waite argued that since the defendants could not prove
that they were outside the military border, the court should
convict them. Justice Nola Holton agreed, and said that the fact
that they were hiking at night near the border was sufficient
indication that they had indeed crossed the line.
The verdict appears to be contrary to Nevada statute, which states
that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. In this case,
the Assistant D.A. presented no direct evidence that the two had
crossed the border on their own and argued that they were guilty
because they couldn't prove that they hadn't.
The two were fined $600 each. They say they have not yet decided
whether they will appeal.
..... ANALYSIS .....
Psychospy was a fly on the wall during the trial. We thought the
defense team, headed by Mr. Chivers, did an excellent job of
defining the primary issue: that they were moved by the security
Dudes from an ambiguous location, and the prosecution had
presented no witnesses or evidence to show beyond a reasonable
doubt that they had crossed the line on their own.
Our jaw dropped when we heard Asst. D.A. Waite tell the judge that
the two were guilty because they could not prove that they were on
public land. The newly hired assistant doesn't grasp the single
most fundamental concept of law: That the burden is on the
prosecution to prove guilt and not on the defendant to prove
innocence. We are disappointed. Unlike Judge Holton, this guy is
supposed to have gone to law school and passed the bar. It is
like someone having been ordained as a Christian minister without
ever learning the Ten Commandments. Of course, Judge Holton
missed the boat, too--inferring guilt without evidence--but that
was expected.
Following the trial, nine members of the Sheriff's Dept., D.A.'s
office and Justice Court gathered at Del Pueblo Cafe in Alamo for
a celebratory luncheon. Our work in the November election has
helped us build an elaborate intelligence network within the
county, and multiple spies were there at Del Pueblo taking notes.
The diners were, as usual, loud and indiscreet, and our sources
were amazed at the bile heaped upon Glenn Campbell, who happened
to be present at the trial and who was perceived as being behind
it all. Someone said the deputies should take Judge Holton out
for another tour of the border area. This supports our conviction
that the Court here is only an extension of the Sheriff's Dept.,
expected to take direction from them and rubber stamp their
arrests. The consensus of the diners was that the verdict in the
trespasser case would probably be appealed but that the guilt of
the two would be upheld.
We can see now that we have a long road to travel.
----- CAMPBELL TRIAL MARCH 3RD -----
Glenn Campbell's oft-delayed trial on obstruction charges is now
scheduled for Friday, March. 3rd, at 10:00 am in the Annex
Building, Alamo, Nevada (90 miles north of Las Vegas). Everyone
is invited.
Previous trials have been postponed three times: (1) When the D.A.
failed to deliver discovery materials in a reasonable time, (2)
when the D.A. excused himself without explanation and hired a
special prosecutor, and (3) when the judge excused herself without
explanation and brought in another judge. It is unknown at
present what the cost has been to the county so far in the
Campbell case. We guess $5000 at least, not including the bad
press. It ain't like the millions spent on O.J., but it is a lot
for Lincoln County given that the D.A. once suggested a $50 fine
to Campbell if he pleaded "no contest."
Campbell says he is ready for the March 3rd trial and that no
delay will come from him.
----- SERIES OF HIKES PLANNED -----
The Friday date makes it convenient for visitors to include the
trial in a weekend visit to the area. The local weather is now
becoming very pleasant, in the 60s during the day, although still
below freezing at night. (Fine for camping, but you'll need two
sleeping bags.)
To complement the trial, we will be organizing a public hiking
expedition on Saturday, March 4th. The destination has not been
decided upon, and perhaps we will choose it only after we poll the
people who actually show up. Possibilities include White Sides
Mountain, Tikaboo Peak or Leviathan Cave (an extensive cavern near
the top of Meeker Peak north of Rachel). The hike will proceed
regardless of whether the trial does.
Now that the weather is improving, the Research Center is planning
to sponsor a free hike every month or two, each to a different
mountain surrounding the Test Site. These full-day hikes will
range from moderate to strenuous, and participants will need to be
in good shape and properly attired. Each hike will give us a
different view of the Nellis Range or Nevada Test Site from on
high. Good candidates might be Tikaboo Peak (alternate view of
Groom), Mt. Sterling (distant view of Papoose Lake), Hayford Peak,
Kawich Peak, Stonewall Mountain and others surrounding the
Restricted Zone. All hikes will be on public or Forest Service
land, and everyone in the world will be invited. However, because
most expeditions will be challenging, we expect only a fairly
small group of hard-core hikers and Test Site zealots to attend.
March 4th will be the first of these hikes. It will probably
begin early, around 10 am, or just enough time for people to drive
to the trailhead from Las Vegas in the morning. There will be no
further announcements for the March 4th hike, except as posted on
alt.conspiracy.area51, so if you are interested you must get in
touch with us for the destination, starting time, meeting place
and other particulars. Call 702-729-2648. It would also be wise
to call on Friday evening, March 3rd, to confirm (or see us at the
trial).
Future hikes will be announced in future Rats.
----- INTEL BITTIES -----
MS FLIGHT SIMULATOR SCENERY FILE. For many months,
[email protected] has been developing and fine-tuning a
scenery file for Microsoft Flight simulator (4.0) featuring Groom
Lake and vicinity. It may offer civilians their first opportunity
to "fly" in and out of Area 51. He says the file is now available
by FTP from ftp.iup.edu. It is also available on America On-Line,
under keyword "PCGAMES," in the "Flight Sim Resource Center" in
the "MSFS 4.0" directory.
CORRECTION. We have wrongfully maligned the Cammo Dudes once
again. In DR#20, we reported that, according to a report by a
visitor, the Dudes had taken down the yellow ribbons marking the
hiking trail to Freedom Ridge. The visitor was mistaken. The
ribbons were still there, but he was looking in the wrong place.
===== SUBSCRIPTION AND COPYRIGHT INFO =====
Circulation: 2628 copies direct to subscribers, plus unknown
postings and redistributions.
© Glenn Campbell, 1995.
This newsletter is a copyrighted serial and may not be reproduced
without permission. PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED FOR THE
FOLLOWING: For one year following the date of publication, you
may photocopy this text or send or post this document
electronically to anyone who you think may be interested, provided
you do it without charge. You may only copy or send this document
in unaltered form and in its entirety, not as partial excerpts
(except brief quotes for review purposes). Except when authorized
in writing, any reproduction for sale or profit is strictly
forbidden and will be pursued with legal action. After one year,
no free reproduction of this document is allowed without
permission; however, these terms may be amended (or the term
extended) by notice published in later issues the Desert Rat.
Email subscriptions to this newsletter are available free of
charge. To subscribe (or unsubscribe), send a message to
[email protected]. Subscriptions are also available by regular
mail for $15 per 10 issues, postpaid to anywhere in the world.
A catalog that includes the "Area 51 Viewer's Guide", the Groom
Lake patch and hat and publications relating to government secrecy
and UFOs is available upon request by email or regular mail.
Back issues are available on various bulletin boards and by
internet FTP to ftp.shell.portal.com, directory
/pub/trader/secrecy/psychospy. Also available by WWW to:
http://alfred1.u.washington.edu:8080/~roland/rat/desert_rat_index. html
For breaking news, watch the newsgroup: alt.conspiracy.area51
The mail address for Psychospy, Glenn Campbell, Area 51 Research
Center, Groom Lake Desert Rat and countless other ephemeral
entities is:
HCR Box 38
Rachel, NV 89001 USA
###
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