- The Pentagon released declassified files on unidentified anomalous phenomena on Friday.
- Skinwalker Ranch owner Brandon Fugal supports the move, saying there is a measure of validation in the release.
- Fugal believes the release moves the world closer to learning what's responsible for all the phenomena at his ranch, considered a paranormal hot spot.
SALT LAKE CITY — In a long-awaited move, the Pentagon on Friday made public the first set of declassified videos and files on unidentified anomalous phenomena.
From unidentified objects captured on video moving at fast speeds while suddenly changing directions, to mysterious lights, to the accounts of pilots and famed astronauts like Buzz Aldrin, the files were rolled out on a Department of Defense website.
"The Department of War is in lockstep with President Trump to bring unprecedented transparency regarding our government's understanding of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena," reads a statement on the site from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. "These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it's time the American people see it for themselves. This release of declassified documents demonstrates the Trump Administration's earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency."
The release brought favorable reaction from one of Utah's foremost stakeholders on the UAP issue.
"I am pleasantly surprised and believe that it's a step in the right direction," said Brandon Fugal, owner of Skinwalker Ranch in Uintah County.
Fugal said there is a measure of validation in the government's move to release the files.
"We know even at Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, which was the center of gravity for a Pentagon-funded, black budget program studying these phenomena, that there has been military interest," Fugal said. "We've even documented surveillance of our experiments and a lot of the sightings that we've been able to capture on camera with our advanced instrumentation."
The ranch has long been considered a UAP and paranormal hot spot, and it has been the location of an ongoing reality television series on the History Channel. Fugal said the seventh season in the series is scheduled to begin on May 19.
"I mean, we're going to be presenting data and photographic evidence that is in alignment with what is being released by the government today," Fugal said.
KSL's own investigation of the ranch in 2020 at Fugal's invitation ended in the documentation of additional unexplained phenomena, including the video capture of an apparent, unidentified flying object.
"I went from being a skeptic — a total skeptic — not believing that there was anything unusual going on," Fugal said in an interview with KSL Friday. "I believed at the time of purchasing the ranch in Utah that there was a natural, prosaic explanation for what had been reported, and of course (I) moved from being a skeptic to not just a believer, but an 'experiencer.'"
Fugal said what surprised him most about the files isn't necessarily what is in them, but that the government released them at all after what he described as "decades of disinformation."
"There has been a very active campaign to discredit pilots and others involved with these types of events," Fugal said.
With the pivot toward disclosure, Fugal believes the world is inching closer to learning what is responsible for all the phenomena at his ranch and with the sightings reported and recorded around the planet.
"I think this is historic," Fugal said. "There is more than meets the eye to what is going on in our airspace, in our world, and I think we are just barely scratching the surface of understanding the nature of it."
