A man who organized a private meeting for Christian leaders with former government insiders claims that recently declassified Pentagon files contain overlooked clues about the nature of UFOs and potential non-human intelligence. Evangelist Tony Merkel stated that the gathering in February, held in a secluded Tennessee mountain cabin, exposed six influential Christian figures to alleged classified data and images of extraterrestrial beings.
Merkel, alongside Pastor Joseph Bishop Zupetz and Alan DiDio of Revival Nation Church, reported being shown images that appeared to depict "interdimensional" beings. He described these creatures as "shape-shifting," possessing a physical body while simultaneously seeming to exist "between realms," akin to a ghost or spirit.
These alleged visuals, according to Merkel, reinforced his interpretation of a 1967 U.S. Air Force document from Project Blue Book, a program that investigated UFO sightings. This particular page, declassified as part of the Pentagon's recent releases starting May 8, reportedly states that investigators found no evidence of sightings being piloted by "space travelers." However, the document also noted that after eliminating other causes, "extra-terrestrial" remained a possibility in many cases.
Merkel's theory posits that the historical document might have used "extra-terrestrial" to refer to non-human intelligence existing outside of physical space, rather than beings traveling through space. He suggests that the government may have allowed popular culture and science fiction to redefine the term "extraterrestrial" to obscure their decades-long investigation into these other types of beings.
Among other images reportedly shown at the meeting was one of a solid, mechanical-looking, pill-shaped craft. Merkel compared this object to a video of a craft spotted over the Atlantic Ocean in 2020, which was included in the July 10 UFO files release and described by officials as a "somewhat deformed balloon."
Merkel acknowledged that the images lacked definitive context and that his interpretation of "interdimensional" beings was his own. He claimed that the information shared in the private meetings had not been included in the declassified files released so far. The Pentagon began releasing UFO-related files on May 8, with multiple batches containing thousands of documents, videos, and pictures. Critics, however, have largely dismissed these releases as lacking definitive proof of UFOs or alien contact.
White House officials and members of Congress have also discussed the possibility of non-human intelligence. Some, like Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, have suggested that witnesses have described beings similar to biblical angels that defy physical laws. Merkel suggested that government narrative control, or propaganda, might be at play in how this information is presented to the public.