During a recent appearance on Matt Serra’s podcast, Rodrigo Gracie recounted a wild story involving a laser pointer, a military helicopter, and a near-arrest near Area 51 in Nevada.
“We drove to Vegas,” Gracie began, “and then we were in Vegas and it was like, you know what, let’s go see the entrance of the Area 51. So we drove out there. It’s about maybe 40 miles from Vegas.”
After arriving, the couple spent time at a roadside alien-themed restaurant before heading back after dark. That’s when Gracie’s laser pointer became a problem.
“Over there it is pitch black,” he said. “Like if you shut the lights of the car, you cannot see. It’s literally you cannot see the hand in front of your face. I didn’t want to fall asleep, so I start shining the laser at the signs, you know, signs of animals crossing, shining, and then the laser would hit the metal and would shine.”
Then something in the distance caught his eye.
“I see from far away a blue light. A blue light in the distance. I thought I was like, ‘Holy sh**.’ And then I shine the first time and the blue light is there up in the air,” he noted. “I shine it again and the light start moving, going towards the car. I was like, my lucky day. I just attracted some aliens.”
What followed was far less extraterrestrial. A helicopter appeared above the car, flooding it with a spotlight. Gracie’s wife, Fernanda, woke up in a panic.
Gracie stated, “She grabbed her phone and she start filming. ‘What did you do now? What did you do now?'” He waved and smiled at the helicopter as it followed them for nearly two hours toward the nearest gas station.
On Fernanda’s advice, Gracie called 911. “The operator goes, ‘Are you driving a red Jeep, license plate, this, this, and that?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ ‘Stay put. There’s units coming your way.'”
At the gas station, he tried to discard the laser in a bathroom trash can. Two police cars arrived, with the helicopter still circling overhead. Officers read him his rights. Then the helicopter landed, and two pilots stepped out wearing helmets.
“As soon as he takes his helmet out, cauliflower ears. I saw it right away and I was probably like a kid. My whole soul smiled.”
The pilot recognized Gracie immediately. “He bows. He goes, ‘I know who you are. I’m a brown belt under Ricardo.'” The pilot shook his hand and then asked, “Dude, what are you thinking shining a laser at a helicopter?”
Gracie told him he thought it was a UFO. “He goes, ‘Even if I was a UFO, what do you expect shining a laser at me?’ I said, ‘Well, I wanted to attract it.’ And he start laughing.”
The laser was confiscated. No ticket. No fine. No jail.
“I’m the luckiest guy ever,” Gracie said.
