Military apologizes for threatening to bomb Area 51 raiders

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has apologized and retracted a tweet that suggested it was going to bomb and kill millennials who planned to raid Area 51.

Last night a DVIDSHUB employee posted a Tweet that in NO WAY supports the stance of the Department of Defense. It was inappropriate and we apologize for this mistake.

— DVIDSHub (@DVIDSHub) September 21, 2019

The tweet, which has since been deleted, was posted on Friday by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDSHub). The tweet contained an image of a group of military individuals standing in front of a B-2 Spirit bomber and read, “The last thing #Millennials will see if they attempt the #area51 raid today.”

On Saturday, DVIDSHub issued an apology. “Last night a DVIDSHUB employee posted a Tweet that in NO WAY supports the stance of the Department of Defense. It was inappropriate and we apologize for this mistake,” @DVIDSHub wrote.

This isn’t the first time the military has had to delete a controversial tweet. On New Year’s Eve in 2019, the U.S. Strategic Command‘s Twitter account sent out a tweet, stating that it was ready to “drop something much, much bigger” than the Times Square Ball. The tweet has since been deleted, as has the Area 51 tweet. However, the internet is forever, and screenshots are still viewable online.

Seems @DVIDSHub deleted that incredibly ill-judged tweet, so here it is for posterity. pic.twitter.com/uXdkbVuvUU

— grant turnbull (@turnbulljourno) September 21, 2019

The tweet in question was referring to a meme started by the notorious “Storm Area 51” to “see them aliens” Facebook event on Sept. 20. Area 51, which is a highly classified Airforce facility in Nevada, has long been rumored to contain information about extraterrestrial life. The event quickly went viral, and over 2 million people RSVP’d to raid the base.

“We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry. If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens.” https://t.co/X6J2tAQVzk pic.twitter.com/a8jYH76DJK

— KF (@d0tslash) July 12, 2019

“We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry. If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens,” the original Facebook post read.

Since the event was posted, social media has been flooded with memes about storming past Area 51 security and taking home aliens. The actual event did not live up to the hype though, with only around 100 people in attendance, as reported by the New York Times. Aside from a few arrests, the event was mostly peaceful and all in good fun.

READ MORE: 

• Despite legal threats and drama, the Area 51 desert event is on
• #LiveFromTheArea51Raid: Memes and highlights from the desert
• YouTubers are exploiting Area 51 mania for content

H/T BBC

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