Republican Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri joined witnesses, researchers and enthusiasts at a conference marking the 30th anniversary of a controversial alleged extraterrestrial encounter, using the occasion to press for greater transparency and legal protections for whistleblowers who come forward with information about unidentified anomalous phenomena.
The UAP (UFO) Press event, hosted by investigative filmmaker James Fox, commemorated the reported 1996 incident in Varginha, Brazil, where some claim the Brazilian military captured two non-human entities. According to WND, Burlison used the gathering to promote two legislative efforts he argues are essential to forcing long-shielded information into the open and encouraging additional witnesses to testify without fear of reprisal.
This is once in more compelling first person narratives, Burlison told the Daily Caller News Foundation during the conference, reflecting on the testimony he had heard. Im looking forward to actually getting my hands on any kind of real physical evidence whether thats material evidence or biological samples, maybe from the corpse at the end of the day, I remain skeptical until I get my hands on physical evidence. But until then, Im going to take it seriously investigating myself.
The congressman, who has aligned himself with efforts to rein in the permanent bureaucracy, framed the UAP issue as another area where government secrecy has gone too far. Burlison urged passage of a UAP disclosure measure as well as robust whistleblower protections to shield those inside the system who are willing to speak out.
Weve been given marching orders we have legislation that we need to pass, the congressman said, emphasizing that Congress must assert its oversight authority. Weve heard from a lot of witnesses. Its time for action. And its time to get the receipts. So its time to pass the UAP disclosure act. It is time to pass whistleblower protection, within that or a separate act.
Fox, whose work has long challenged official narratives on unexplained aerial encounters, said the conference was designed to move the debate beyond abstract claims and into direct human interaction. I think that its safe to say theres enough extremely compelling firsthand eyewitness testimony. Something truly extraordinary took place, and we just want an investigation, the filmmaker told the DCNF. Its one thing to watch witnesses testify in a documentary or make claims in a documentary. Its very different to look someone in the eye, to shake their hand, to meet their wife, to meet their colleagues.
Several alleged witnesses to the 1996 Varginha episode attended, including individuals who had remained silent for decades out of fear of professional damage or even physical retaliation. Their accounts, while unproven, underscore why many conservatives argue that an overclass of unaccountable officials has been allowed to decide what the public may and may not know.
In 1996, on Jan. 20, I was called in to see a patient. Getting there I realized it was a being not of this planet, said physician Italo Venturelli, describing what he claims to have observed under clinical conditions. I was called to give my opinion on the case, assessing it medically: Conscious, no pain, no bleeding, breathing well, very calm and tranquil, resembling a 7-year-old, white, no bad odor. The head was large, teardrop-shaped, a small mouth, one hand under the sheet, the other out.
He seemed to understand the situation. A beautiful gaze, one without judgment. Twice he looked at me, then to the window, then at me again, Venturelli continued, portraying the alleged entity as eerily composed. His way of looking suggested an intelligence greater than ours, than human. He understood, despite his defenseless positon, he was not afraid. He understood what was happening. He likely had some purpose for being there.
For Burlison and others pressing the issue in Washington, such testimony is not a demand for blind belief but for accountable government and the rule of law. As debates over UAPs intersect with broader concerns about the deep state, executive overreach and the publics right to know, conservatives are increasingly framing disclosure and whistleblower protections as part of a larger struggle to restore transparency and constitutional limits on power in the post-President Trump era.
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