Special Report: Confessions of a UFO Hunter

(NewsNation) — He’s a erstwhile Pentagon insider, a seasoned and investigator. Today, he’s rather perchance the astir important dependable successful the modern UFO movement.

Luis Elizondo — risking his career, his family, and perchance his beingness — tells the communicative of what helium claims the American authorities truly knows astir alien craft.

There are galore radical liable for the resurgence of involvement successful imaginable alien beingness successful the universe, but possibly nary 1 has played a bigger relation than a muscle-bound antheral with tattoos, a psyche spot and 1 heck of a communicative to tell. 

Luis Elizondo’s caller book, “Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs,” lays retired allegations that the United States subject has been moving an unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) retrieval and reverse engineering programme for years — and has adjacent recovered nonhuman specimens.

“We're not alone,” Elizondo told NewsNation. “We are not unsocial successful this universe, and it is simply a elemental fact. The U.S. authorities has been alert of that information for decades now. I deliberation if the American nationalist knew conscionable however heavy this prevarication went, that we would person a precise important law situation connected our hands.”

There’s contention astir aspects of Elizondo’s resume and what precisely helium did successful the Pentagon with UFOs. But everyone agrees helium is an Army seasoned who has served successful hotspots astir the world. He would past spell connected to oversee counterespionage and counterterrorism investigations for the Department of Defense.

To marque consciousness of the antheral and his claims, you request to spell backmost to erstwhile it each started successful 2009 erstwhile Elizondo was moving arsenic an quality operations specializer for the Department of Defense. He’d risen to the coveted GS-15 wage scale: The highest level national employees tin attain. 

He’d acceptable up a comfy beingness successful Kent Island, Maryland, with his wife, Jennifer, and their 2 daughters.

“We had a truly bully spot to live; this was a large spot to rise our kids,” Jennifer said. “And it was conscionable a truly laid-back country to rise a household and to unrecorded here.”

But Elizondo said that each changed aft helium met Jim Lacatski, a renowned rocket systems expert. He was moving the Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Application (AAWSAP) program.

“I distinctly retrieve Jim pulling maine into his bureau and asking, and I mean bluntly asking, ‘What bash you deliberation astir UFOs?’” 

In response, Lacatski told NewsNation, "I was the sole programme manager for the implicit duration of DIA's AAWSAP, September 2008 — December 2010, and worked alongside DHS successful the follow-on Kona Blue programme done 2011. Lue Elizondo was not progressive successful either AAWSAP oregon Kona Blue."

Elizondo, astatine the time, said it was thing helium had small involvement in.

“I wasn't peculiarly funny successful subject fabrication arsenic a kid,” said Elizondo. “I wasn't a large Star Trek instrumentality oregon Star Wars fan. So, I see myself benignant of a gumshoe investigator, aged school. Just the facts benignant of guy. And Lacatski said, ‘That's fair. But marque definite that you don't fto your analytic bias get the champion of you. You person to stay open-minded.’”

That’s when, according to Elizondo, Lacatski said helium was studying and collecting accusation connected UFOs.

Elizondo claims helium was invited to articulation a programme nether the AAWSAP umbrella called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program.

That invitation would soon go an initiative.

“It was a spot of similar 'Alice successful Wonderland' going down the rabbit hole. And it kept getting deeper and deeper,” said Elizondo.

He said his archetypal epiphany came during a gathering with a Brazilian Air Force wide who’d travel to little them connected a bid of incidents successful a metropolis called “Colares.” 

“These people, the town's people, were being plagued by UFOs. In immoderate cases, they were being pursued, and reports of these laser beam-type emissions were coming down and harming radical to the constituent wherever the Brazilian authorities really deployed doctors and the subject to investigate,” Elizondo said. “And past erstwhile they arrived, they substantiated, they encountered these UFOs, these UAP, arsenic well.”

Operation Saucer was an probe carried retired betwixt 1977 and 1978 by the Brazilian Air Force pursuing alleged UFO sightings successful the metropolis of Colares. The probe was closed aft uncovering nary antithetic phenomena.

Elizondo, however, disagrees with that assessment.

“That was not the case,” helium said. “And it was precise wide that it was a precise morganatic investigation. And what they recovered was that these things were coming successful and retired of the country and harming people.”

As Elizondo went further down the rabbit hole, helium said helium learned that galore of the classical UFO cases were overmuch much than legends, including the celebrated 1947 incidental successful Roswell, New Mexico.

“There was a UAP that crashed. In fact, determination were 2 UAP that crashed, and 1 flew distant portion the different 1 did not,” Elizondo claims. “And it was recovered by the U.S. government. I'm not saying it doesn't dependable crazy; what I'm saying is it's real.”

UAP encounters: 'Some radical permission terrified ... injured'

“I deliberation successful bid to recognize if thing is simply a menace — from a nationalist information position — it's a precise elemental calculus: Its capabilities versus intent,” Elizondo said. “We spot immoderate of the capabilities, and by the way, we can't replicate them. We person nary thought the intent. So to presume oregon to presume that these things are friendly, oregon they're hostile, there's not capable data.”

Elizondo says the Pentagon’s UFO investigators were keenly funny successful the interaction UAPs were having connected individuals, particularly subject personnel. 

“There are capable reports that substantiate that not each these interactions are needfully benign oregon peaceful,” helium said. “Some radical permission terrified, immoderate radical permission injured. There are U.S. work people. There are radical who are connected 100% disablement close present from the U.S. authorities due to the fact that of an enactment with UAP. And it's successful writing, by the way, from the U.S. authorities due to the fact that of their engagement successful an incident.”

The Veterans Administration has granted afloat aesculapian disablement benefits to Airman John Burroughs for injuries to his bosom and eyes that helium claims to person suffered during the celebrated 1980 UAP incidental successful England’s Rendlesham Forest, a bid of reported sightings of unexplained lights conscionable extracurricular Royal Air Force Woodbridge, which was utilized astatine the clip by the United States Air Force.

Elizondo said that’s conscionable the extremity of the iceberg.

“We came crossed accusation (unrelated to Rendlesham Forest) that suggested that radical were having things enactment wrong their assemblage that they did not springiness support to,” Elizondo said. “Something invasive that was not enactment determination by their permission.”

A photo, helium claims, shows 1 of those “interesting things.” It’s allegedly a biologic illustration that was removed from a U.S. work subordinate and submitted for analysis.

“If you look here, there's really a portion of the spot sticking retired and what appears to beryllium these fibers that were moving connected their own,” Elizondo said. “And past it looks similar this, this chip, oregon immoderate this overseas entity is, encapsulated by immoderate benignant of biologic material. In this peculiar case, this was moving connected its own. It really had its ain metabolic activity. And it terrified 1 of the doctors who was looking astatine this nether a microscope.”

But are UAPs abducting radical astatine random? Or are they drawn to definite individuals? Elizondo claims probe has revealed a fascinating signifier among UAP experiences — successful a fascinating portion of the brain.

“This is simply a portion of the encephalon known arsenic the caudate putamen, and it is simply a precise circumstantial portion of the brain, and it's liable for each sorts of worldly — immoderate person adjacent speculated precognition (foreknowledge of a paranormal kind).”

Elizondo said that portion of the encephalon is larger successful radical with alleged psychic powers, oregon what helium said the U.S. authorities has called “remote viewing.” 

Stanford immunologist Dr. Garry Nolan has been researching this topic, and portion his conclusions are not definitive, determination are 2 moving theories: One, radical with people ample caudate putamen mightiness pull UAPs similar antennae. Another: That UAP encounters with radical tin origin that portion of the encephalon to get larger.

Elizondo argues that radical with enhanced caudate putamen mightiness person endowment some for distant viewing — and communicating with — UAPs. It's an important constituent due to the fact that it’s an established information that the Pentagon has had an involvement successful distant viewing for subject purposes.

“A batch of radical that were successful the distant viewing programme had MRIs done connected their brains, and a immense bulk person that circumstantial morphology,” Elizondo said.

Remote viewing was discredited by the CIA erstwhile the bureau determined that it didn’t work.

“It perfectly works,” according to Elizondo.

He says helium knows it works due to the fact that helium was trained successful distant viewing himself.

That alleged capableness for distant viewing — and its imaginable transportation to nonhuman quality — whitethorn dependable similar a gift. Elizondo, however, says it was besides partially a curse. He says that’s due to the fact that aft years of studying UAP encounters, helium began experiencing what’s known successful UAP circles arsenic “the hitchhiker effect,” the alleged improvement of UAPs appearing astatine his home, possibly due to the fact that helium was attracting them.

“We would person these weird glowing balls of airy successful the house,” helium said. “They were they were green, they were small, they were diffuse, benignant of similar like a small neon ball.”

His wife, Jennifer, said she would “routinely” spot orbs.

“Small small spherical lightish greenish benignant of color. And beryllium conscionable walking down the hallway and I would conscionable halt and it would conscionable proceed to spell close done the wall,” she said.

Jennifer said unusual happenings “turned the location upside down.”

Then, a video that would daze the satellite — and alteration it.

“November 2004, the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group was doing what they called workups close disconnected the seashore of San Diego. As they are doing this, determination are 2 antithetic radar arrays that are picking up these objects implicit the people of respective days that were dropping from 80,000 feet, and wrong astir a 2nd oregon less, each of a abrupt being 50 feet implicit the h2o and hovering and past popping backmost up again,” Elizondo said.

He believes these were “absolutely” intelligent technology.

“It's responsive and reactive. And it's not human. It's not ours,” helium said.

Though the Nimitz incidental had occurred backmost successful 2004, Elizondo didn’t spot the video until 2009. Then, successful 2015, it happened again.

Naval aviators attached to the USS Roosevelt recorded 2 different videos during exercises disconnected the seashore of Florida that caught the attraction of quality advisor and erstwhile Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Chris Mellon.

“The Navy was experiencing a fig of incursions into restricted airspace,” Mellon said. “And I met Elizondo astatine the Pentagon and began to perceive astir these incursions. And the much I learned, the much I realized that we had a imaginable catastrophe connected our hands.”

The videos remained undisclosed to the nationalist for years, and it’s casual to spot why. These weren’t conscionable unusual objects successful the sky. They conformed to what the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) would found arsenic the 5 observables.

“The 5 observables see instantaneous acceleration, hypersonic velocity, debased observability, mean question and anti-gravity. In essence, the quality to defy Earth's earthy gravitational unit without the associated technology,” Elizondo said.

He said AATIP besides identified different pattern. In respective instances, UAPs person allegedly appeared adjacent American atomic facilities oregon weapons systems. Both the Nimitz and the Roosevelt are nuclear-powered.

“We bash cognize that determination is simply a precise important involvement that UAP has towards our atomic technology,” Elizondo said.

A daunting thought, to beryllium sure, but Elizondo says AATIP besides developed a proposal that the UAPs mightiness person an Achilles heel: a vulnerability that the American subject tin exploit.

“The wide statement was that these vehicles, their propulsion units are susceptible to an electromagnetic pulse, meaning they are utilizing a exertion that the electromagnetism — if they were to brushwood a definite frequency, it would interfere with their quality to alert and maneuver,” Elizondo said.

Building connected that hypothesis, Elizondo says his squad devised an audacious, concealed program to disable and seizure 1 of those objects.

“We had projected a chromatic trap (Operation Interloper) to effort to cod information and accusation connected these UAP,” helium said.

“You person a nuclear-powered carrier, with different nuclear-powered vessels, perchance nuclear-powered submarines — which besides whitethorn person perchance atomic weapons,” helium explained. “So the thought is to make a atomic footprint that is truthful irresistible to these things that we would make a trap, and past that trap would beryllium sprung.”

Operation Interloper, however, ne'er made it past the readying phase. 

Elizondo said the shelving of Operation Interloper was conscionable 1 of respective puzzling and frustrating setbacks to AATIP’s mission. Eventually, helium came to judge it was much than conscionable bureaucratic inefficiency and that idiosyncratic was trying to artifact his squad from making progress.

“I took an oath to the American radical to support this state from each enemies, overseas and domestic,” helium said. “And turns retired that the force was elements successful our ain government. It's the bureaucracy.”

That realization would pb to the biggest and riskiest determination of Elizondo’s life. 

“To execute my mission, I knew I had to leave,” helium said.

His adjacent chapter

If it’s existent that the Pentagon’s alleged Legacy Program has been secretly retrieving and studying nonhuman trade and adjacent bodies, wherever are they? Area 51? Wright-Patterson Air Force Base successful Ohio? Or determination else? 

No 1 has travel guardant with those specifics, not adjacent famed subject quality serviceman turned UFO whistleblower David Grusch, who went nationalist connected NewsNation past year.

There comes a constituent successful Elizondo’s publication wherever helium names names. He mentions Lockheed Martin, McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Raytheon and BAE Systems arsenic being immoderate of the backstage corporations that are progressive successful moving connected retrieved alien technology.

Lockheed Martin flatly denied the allegations successful a connection to NewsNation.

"Questions astir UAPs are champion addressed by the U.S. government," a institution spokesperson said.

Raytheon besides denied the claims.

"This astir surely goes without saying, but no, we’ve ne'er had entree to alien technology," the institution said successful a connection to NewsNation.

Elizondo besides claims immoderate nonhuman alien biosamples are present being kept astatine Fort Detrick successful Maryland.

He claims immoderate of the answers — and possibly the biologic samples — tin beryllium recovered astatine the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“Certainly, we cognize that a batch of these samples were farmed retired to experts, similar the NIH, and the FDA, which perfectly autumn nether the authorities of this building. Logically, it makes consciousness that determination are radical successful that gathering close present that whitethorn cognize the determination of wherever these biologic samples are,” Elizondo said.

The defence companies helium names, the Pentagon and the Department of Health and Human Services each categorically contradict Elizondo’s claims. He claims those denials are lone imaginable due to the fact that helium could ne'er get the grounds to beryllium their engagement erstwhile and for all.

"The FDA has not had and does not person biologic samples from nonhuman quality successful our possession," the bureau said successful a connection to NewsNation.

Elizondo wanted to analyse those alleged samples and said helium was denied access.

“We began to tally into immoderate fierce resistance,” Elizondo said. “The much we continued to investigate, the accrued level of that absorption became wide that determination were elements … the lone mode I tin picture them arsenic spiritual fundamentalists.”

Or a radical euphemistically dubbed the "Collins Elite."

The Collins Elite has agelong been rumored to beryllium a cabal of spiritual fanatics wrong the Pentagon. Many see them a myth, but Elizondo thinks otherwise.

“That radical is live and well,” helium said. “It exists. I encountered elements of that radical firsthand. There are spiritual fundamentalists wrong the Pentagon and wrong the U.S. authorities — and specifically the quality assemblage — that person a precise strict mentation of their philosophical content system.”

He recounts 1 circumstantial brushwood with a high-ranking subordinate of the alleged Collins Elite — a speech that sounded similar a menace to him.

“Someone stopped maine successful the halls of the Pentagon and said, ‘Have you work your Bible lately?’ And I was benignant of amazed by the question. ‘I cognize what the Bible says. What, whitethorn I inquire specifically, bash you mean?’ He says, ‘You know, what we're dealing with are our demons. These are demonic beings. And we shouldn't beryllium looking astatine them.’”

Aside from imaginable spiritual motivations for the secrecy, Elizondo suggests determination could besides beryllium geopolitical considerations astatine play: perchance Russia and China.

“There’s ever a interest erstwhile a overseas adversary is looking astatine something,” said Elizondo. “There is this feline and rodent crippled wherever we don't privation the adversaries to cognize what we have. We besides don't privation adversaries to cognize what we don't know.”

Whatever the motivations for the alleged coverup, Elizondo says it went beyond bureaucratic foot-dragging.

“Oh, (people were) perfectly (threatened),” helium said. “You know, immoderate of our folks were told, ‘If you're not careful, we're gonna bash precisely to you what we did with the Rosenbergs.’”

Elizondo describes the mounting obstructions of denied requests, scrapped plans, threats and the refusal to disclose immoderate of this to the public, Congress oregon the president. 

By aboriginal 2017, it had go excessively overmuch for Elizondo.

He resigned from the AATIP aft going public.

In the missive addressed to past Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Elizondo said helium was quitting due to the fact that “despite overwhelming grounds definite individuals successful the section stay staunchly opposed to further probe connected the arguable taxable of anomalous aerospace threats.”

“They made my beingness hell,” helium said.

Hard times ahead

On Dec. 16, 2017, the satellite woke up to a bombshell: Elizondo, moving with Chris Mellon, had gone nationalist with the now-famous USS Nimitz video. 

“I contacted 3 antithetic quality organizations. Eventually, the New York Times editors were persuaded they had capable to bash a screen story,” Mellon said.

The Times published an explosive nonfiction revealing the Pentagon’s secretive UFO program.

Elizondo abruptly became an planetary nationalist fig erstwhile the communicative broke.

“It was terrifying,” helium said. “I had spent my full beingness surviving successful the shadows arsenic an quality officer. Anonymity is your friend. Coming retired was, for me, 1 of the astir hard experiences.”

Suddenly, Elizondo’s look became synonymous with the UFO question. Now, with his days astatine the Pentagon down him, helium has devoted himself to the cause. He took a occupation with To The Stars Academy, a UFO probe and advocacy radical founded by Blink-182 vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge.

Together, they appeared connected History's “Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation,” which garnered him adjacent much fame.

That attention, however, came astatine a price.

“I did not deliberation that our lives would beryllium this turned wrong retired for this galore years. It's exhausting. It's exhausting,” said his wife, Jennifer.

The Office of Special Investigation (OSI) wrong the U.S. Air Force opened a transgression probe into Elizondo.

“The archetypal allegation was that I was liable for unauthorized disclosure and that I stole classified videos retired of the Pentagon and a full clump of stuff,” helium said. “And agelong communicative short, the Air Force OSI came backmost and said, ‘Nope, actually, we seized the computers. No wrongdoing. He didn't instrumentality thing home. He ne'er had a speech astir thing classified. Everything's unclassified.'”

The Pentagon has publically denied his assertion that helium was the caput of AATIP — some successful anterior nationalist statements and straight to NewsNation.

“The section is afloat committed to openness and accountability to Congress and the American people, which it indispensable equilibrium with its work to support delicate information, sources, and methods," said Sue Gough, Department of Defense spokesperson. "As we person said galore times before, the section and AARO volition travel the information wherever it leads; however, to day we person not recovered immoderate credible grounds of extraterrestrial activity."

“I notation you to the Historical Record Report Volume 1, disposable connected www.aaro.mil. AARO continues its reappraisal of the humanities grounds of U.S. authorities UAP programs and intends to people a Historical Record Report, Volume Two. To date, AARO has not discovered immoderate verifiable accusation to substantiate claims that immoderate programs regarding the possession oregon reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials person existed successful the past oregon beryllium currently. AARO welcomes the accidental to talk with immoderate erstwhile oregon existent authorities worker oregon contractor who believes they person accusation applicable to the humanities review.”

“I'll instrumentality ISIS, I'll instrumentality al Qaeda. Whatever, those those don't scare me. Those don't fuss me. What bothers maine is erstwhile radical question my loyalty, my intentions of what I'm trying to do. That cuts deep,” Elizondo said.

Jennifer said the government’s alleged mistreatment of her hubby was “shameful.”

“We request to person an quality assemblage that is consenting to talk information to power,” said Mellon. “Here comes a feline who does that and intelligibly is correct. Does helium get an grant for identifying a huge, large vulnerability successful America's aerial defense, similar helium should? No, helium gets harassed by these bureaucrats due to the fact that he's doing worldly that is inconvenient.”

Amid reputational attacks, Elizondo and his household were uprooted from their location arsenic his caller occupation astatine To the Stars Academy called him to California.

Then, the occupation fell through.

Elizondo and his woman person present gone from steady, well-paid jobs to a precarious fiscal position.

“I had to get a occupation astatine Target. And past aft that, I got a occupation astatine Home Depot,” Jennifer said.

The household went from their location to a mobile home.

“Everyone thinks we person each this money,” Jennifer said. “Come unrecorded for a time successful my life. I warrant you volition tally backmost to yours.”

Elizondo said helium feels “terrible” due to the fact that of the accent that he’s enactment his household done and “what they’ve had to endure.”

Vindication

Some alleviation yet came for the Elizondo household successful April 2021 erstwhile U.S. Sen. Harry Reid wrote a missive confirming Elizondo’s relation successful AATIP.

Personal vindication aside, Elizondo said he’s astir arrogant of the momentous displacement that’s taken spot successful the nationalist speech connected the UAP question — some among the wide nationalist and successful Washington.

Lawmakers successful 2022 passed authorities that called connected the U.S. Department of Defense to make a UAP bureau that would study to Congress. That bureau is present known arsenic the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

“I'm astir arrogant of the information that present it's being openly discussed successful the halls of the Pentagon and downstairs successful the cafeteria,” said Elizondo. “That, to me, I deliberation is simply a hellhole of an accomplishment because that means that the stigma and the taboo is yet evaporating, and we tin statesman to spot the taxable much clearly.”

With the grounds of the archetypal AARO director, Sean Kirkpatrick, successful 2023, it seemed the UAP renaissance had officially commenced.

Age of Enlightenment?

On July 26, 2023, Navy aviator Ryan Graves, Navy Cmdr. David Fravor and erstwhile Air Force quality serviceman David Grusch testified astatine a legislature proceeding seen astir the world.

“It was a precise profound and arrogant infinitesimal for me,” said Elizondo. “You had 3 subject unit testifying connected the world of UAP. Now, that's historic.”

It felt for a infinitesimal similar the dam was breaking and that afloat disclosure was astir to happen.

But it didn’t enactment retired similar that. First, AARO refuted Grusch’s claims. Then, similar Elizondo, Grusch became the taxable of a discrediting campaign, including his aesculapian history.

“They commencement seeing dissension, and they commencement misinformation and trying to question his loyalty successful his credibility,” said Elizondo. “They effort to discredit him conscionable similar they tried to bash me. Just similar they effort to with anybody other who comes retired and steps retired of rank.”

AARO has publically declared that it has recovered nary grounds to enactment immoderate claims of a authorities UAP retrieval program. As for the UAP captured successful those celebrated videos, they stay unidentified. 

"At nary clip did I supply mendacious accusation to Congress. In fact, my squad and I provided existent grounds to backmost up each of our findings and research, thing that each of the different claimants person failed to do," Kirkpatrick said successful a effect to NewsNation.

The Pentagon says AARO volition travel the information wherever it leads and that they’ve recovered nary credible grounds of extraterrestrial activity.

Elizondo said helium would “absolutely” attest earlier Congress if fixed the opportunity.