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Matty Roberts, who created the viral Facebook event called “Storm Area 51: They Can’t Stop All of Us,” and his mother, Malinda Ortega, feature prominently in the Netflix docuseries Trainwreck: Storm Area 51.
Matty Roberts, 26, now lives in Bakersfield and has stepped away from public life. He has adopted a normal lifestyle, working in retail. Matty Roberts did not reap any major financial benefits from the event and had to pay a large settlement in a lawsuit. Malinda Ortega is still active in the beauty industry and promotes her work on social media, as per reports.
The case began in June 2019 when 21-year-old Matty Roberts jokingly created a Facebook event to storm the US Air Force base Area 51. The post quickly went viral with millions of people responding, the US military issuing warnings, and local authorities beginning to prepare for the potential threat. The prank turned into two desert music festivals, including Alienstock.
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The Netflix docuseries Trainwreck: Storm Area 51, released on July 29, 2025, presents the entire incident in two parts. It is directed by Jack Macinnes and details how a joke went viral on the internet, becoming a global phenomenon. It also highlights the social impact of internet memes and viral culture.
All about Matty Roberts
According to People magazine, Matty Roberts is currently 26 years old and living in Bakersfield, California. After the events of 2019, he stepped away from public life and resumed his job at a vape shop located at Valley Plaza Mall. His social media accounts are very limited, and he has fewer than 1,500 followers on Instagram.
After the event, he faced a legal suit filed by a motel owner named Connie West. The suit was for damages related to unauthorized events and was settled for about $3.4 million. After this settlement, Roberts has not made any public statement about any future plans.
T-shirts and other event and meme-related goods brought in roughly $1,700 for Matty. Most of the financial gain went to sponsors and promoters. He organized a legal festival called Alienstock to distance himself from the illegal crowd that originally took place in Rachel, Nevada. He enlisted the help of Disco Donnie, a promoter.
Media and legal ramifications
The Netflix documentary Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 explores how a funny post made by a bored Matty Roberts became a serious issue thanks to the media. The documentary shows how Roberts' post caught the attention of the FBI and the US Air Force. It explains how satire came to be seen as a threat through social media posts, memes, interviews, and reenactments.
The documentary features Malinda Ortega as a balanced parent who had been concerned about the incident from the beginning. The documentary also shows how legal ramifications and the organization of different festivals split the incident into two opposite outcomes—a peaceful celebration and a legal settlement.
The Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 docuseries examines the event from a journalistic perspective—the journey from a meme to media uproar, legal issues, and festival culture. The show details the impact of the internet viral event and Roberts' and his mother's reactions.
Viewers can stream Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 on Netflix.
