LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Recent disclosures by the federal government acknowledging the existence of UFOs might be surprising to everyone except Nevada's former Sen. Harry Reid.
13 Action News Anchor Dave Courvoisier sat down to talk to Reid who has an enduring interest in these aerial phenomena.
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Reid served Nevada as a senator for 30 years and was the first prominent elected official to publicly embrace the idea of revealing to the American people what the government knew about UFOs.
“It's something that America wants -- transparency. Anytime we try to hold things back from the public is a mistake,” Reid said.
Reid was able to draw attention to the topic of UFOs in no small part due to the fact that the top-secret government base called Area 51 is located in his state.
“Yes, I've been to Area 51 a number of times and I can remember some of the things that are not classified anymore like the development of a stealth helicopter,” Reid said.
Reid says though he doesn't believe the government held back information about UFOs for fear there would be a general panic. Instead, it had more to do with how the government was being accountable.
“There weren't 10 or 12 sightings, but hundreds and hundreds of them. So, it's something that I felt at the time we should know more about, and we did learn more,” Reid said.
Reid said when he first wanted to go public with UFOs his staff and friends did everything but beg him not to do so. When 13 Action News asked him if he had any personal opinion about what UFOs were, he said “Frankly, I just don't know.”
