Two Dutch tourists have pleaded guilty to trespassing after they were arrested for attempting to capture footage of US government site Area 51.

On Monday, Govert Sweep, 21, and Ties Granzier, 20, were sentenced to a year in county jail, following their 10 September arrest in Nevada. They will only serve three days if they agree to pay fines of $2,280 each.

According to the two men, who were arrested about three miles into the nearby Nevada National Security Site, they can speak, write and read English and saw the “No Trespassing” signs, but were curious about the heavily guarded location.

The Nevada National Security Site, a government nuclear facility, is more than 10 miles from Area 51.

At the time of their arrest, police found cameras, a phone, a laptop and a drone in their vehicle, according to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office. Granzier, who shared his plans to film Area 51 on Instagram prior to his arrest, told authorities he is a YouTuber.

Area 51 uncovered Show all 13 1 /13 Area 51 uncovered Area 51 uncovered A U-2 pilot is being fitted into a partial pressure suit at Area 51. These early pressure suits bore a cunning resemblance to the alien costumes of 1950s B-movies. Area 51 uncovered Aerial of Area 51 in the mid-1960s. Workers then and now are flown in from Burbank and Vegas. Public Domain Area 51 uncovered Area 51, Nevada: Covered U-2 being rolled out of cargo bay Public Domain Area 51 uncovered Area 51, Nevada: The U-2 on the runway, signaled by a man in a checkered shirt. Public Domain Area 51 uncovered Former CIA test pilot Ken Collins holding the helmet of the pressure suit he used for the A-12 OXCART. Flying a high altitude spy plane at 90,000 feet meant that pilots like astronauts needed to be protected from the pressure and heat that mounts with altitude. NGT Area 51 uncovered A recently declassified image of Area 51 Area 51 uncovered Kingman Airport, Arizona : Hangar doors opened NGT Area 51 uncovered The A-12 OXCART at Area 51. Over 90 per cent of the plane's airframe was made of titanium Public Domain Area 51 uncovered The U-2 spy plane at Area 51, which at the time was known as "Watertown", amongst the workers with top-secret clearance. Area 51 uncovered Ray Goudey reading while pre-breathing. Public Doman Area 51 uncovered A-12s being driven from Lockheed to Area 51 Public Domain Area 51 uncovered An A-12 flying against a blue sky. Public Domain Area 51 uncovered The titanium A-12 spy plane prototype being prepared for mounting on the pylon for radar cross section tests at Area 51, which were used to determine the visibiltiy of the plane to enemy radar. Public Domain

But the pair told police officials that they had no intention of “storming” Area 51 as part of the planned Facebook event that saw millions of people RSVP, and said that they just wanted to see the site.

“We didn’t have any intention to storm it because we leave on day [sic] before the actual storming dates, and we just wanted… to go there,” Sweep told KTNV.

The two men pleaded guilty to the misdemeanours trespassing and illegal parking. In addition to jail time, they must also surrender the electronic equipment found at the time of their arrest, according to Nye County District Attorney Chris Arabia.

"It was important to us that these men serve jail time and pay a substantial financial penalty," Arabia said in a video statement released by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office. "We take this crime seriously. And people need to understand that we will not put up with this kind of nonsense."

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

As part of their sentencing, the men were also ordered to stay away from any events near or related to the Nevada National Security Site, and to not go within 500 yards of the site for the next year.

Granzier said: “We did not want to cause any trouble, it has all gone a little bit out of hand.”