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A man who owns the actual "Area 51" Nevada license plate has reportedly been flooded with tickets due to novelties purchased by tourists, TheDrive.com reports.
The man, who identified himself as Chris on his @area51plate TikTok account, revealed that he received 172 tickets because of driving offenses committed by others with novelty versions of his actual license plate.
"In my earlier TikTok video I told you that I've had state agencies coming after me for seven years, harassing me with fraudulent debt and even the threat of an arrest warrant in my name. Why? All because I own this plate," Chris said while holding up the license plate. "It's because people from all over this country are buying fake Nevada 'Area 51' plates and mounting them to their cars, driving through a toll and guess who gets the bill. I do."
Chris then showed the 172 tickets lined up on his floor, claiming they were worth "tens of thousands of dollars in violations." He said most of the tickets are in relation to drivers going through toll booths without paying and the automated ticketing process picking up the faux-Nevada plate assuming he's responsible, rather than the vehicle's actual owner.
Chris said he's been successful every time he's attempted to dispute the tickets, though some government agencies have threatened to issue arrest warrants, though not providing additional details. A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Office of Public Information claimed they were unfamiliar with the issue, but presumed it was in relation to a traffic incident involving a vehicle bearing the license plate.
Area 51 -- which gets its name for its map designation in the Nevada Test and Training Range and is a unit of the Nellis Air Force Base currently used as an open training range for the U.S. Air Force -- has long been the setting of numerous conspiracies regarding paranormal activities that theorists believe involve the U.S. government storing and hiding alien bodies and unidentified flying objects.