In a move described as a “bold step towards disclosure,” Victor Viggiani, a Canadian disclosure advocate, made public on Saturday secret UFO files from the Runic Archives of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). As he released the files to the public, the activist for #Discloure dared the U.S. government to charge him for the action.

Reacting to the latest development in the decades-long campaign for full UFO and ET disclosure, UFO researchers and disclosure advocates said the documents prove that contrary to the U.S. government’s public posturing that it does not take UFO phenomenon seriously, officials at the highest levels of civilian and military authority have been investigating, researching and documenting UFOs for decades.

At the first Canadian National Inquiry into UFOs — ET Disclosure Hearing — held on Saturday, June 25, 2016, at the Alien Cosmic Expo in Brantford, Ontario, Viggiani released to the public a cache of secret NORAD UFO files.

“I am hereby releasing it to you and I dare the US Government to charge me.”

“It appears that I have been threatened with indictment if I release the NORAD files in my possession,” he commented, quoting from a section of the document that stated, “Any distribution of this kind of information threatens National Security in addition to being a violation of the Espionage Act of the United States.”

He then released the documents to media representatives, saying, “I dare the U.S. government to charge me.”

Viggiani, a retired school administrator from Toronto and veteran UFO investigator who has researched UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) — better known in UFO research circles as UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Objects) — and related phenomena for decades, released a total of 11 documents obtained through a Canadian Access of Information Act (AIA) request.

“I have here in front of me eleven documents,” he said in a video from Earth Mystery News. “I call them the RUNIC Files and they are directly from NORAD indicating that over the last five years an average of 1,800 ‘tracks of interest’ with 75 intercepts. This is directly from the commander of NORAD.”

NORAD is the US-Canadian organization responsible for aerospace warning and defense of the North American airspace.

“Over the last five years [there have been] an average of 1,800 ‘tracks of interest’ with 75 [UFO] intercepts.”

The documents, as Viggiani stated, reveal that in the past five years NORAD has handled every year, on the average, about 1,800 “tracks of interest” (TOIs) and 75 intercepts of UFOs.

UFO In Area 51 Hangar [Image via Shutterstock]

“This means that the jet fighter pilots manage to get close enough to the UFOs to not only establish visual contact, but also get a target lock,” a UFO enthusiast commented.

And while the newly released documents give no information about the nature of the objects intercepted — whether they were extraterrestrial crafts or man-made crafts — UFO researchers consider the figures to be significant because they offer a glimpse into the intensity of UFO-related activity at NORAD.

Advocates pointed out that the figures released represent only the number of “tracks of interest” (TOIs) that NORAD chose to disclose. The number of TOIs that remain undisclosed is uncertain but some speculate “it could be in the thousands.”

Viggiani’s AIA had reportedly aimed at full disclosure of “tracks of interest.” But NORAD declined full disclosure, claiming that the complete “Table of Tracks of Interest” was classified information. But the organization approved release of a limited set of data.

“The request for Table of Tracks of Interest (TOI) are classified unclassified/for official use only (FOUO),” the NORAD response to Viggiani’s AIA read. “It is to be controlled, stored, handled, transmitted, distributed and disposed of in accordance with DOD policy relating to FOUO information and is not to be released to the public, the media or other personnel who do not have a valid need-to-know without prior approval of an authorized NORAD official.”

“However, the NORAD Commander has approved the release of the following information regarding Tracks of Interest and Unknown Tracks,” the document added.

The documents contained a list of TOIs with much of the information redacted.

Viggiani explained that much of the redacted information pertained to what pilots saw when they intercepted UFOs. The information was redacted because the details of eyewitness accounts of the nature of the intercepted UFOs were considered “sensitive.”

Viggiani revealed that one of the documents contained information about UFOs discovered by the RCMP. Another contained an air traffic control report about an incident in which two Canadian CF-18s, scrambled from the Comox Air Force Base, pursued three UFOs at an altitude of about 35,000 feet, gained contact with and engaged the UFOs.

Over the last five years NORAD has had an average of 1,800 UFO 'tracks of interest' [Image via Shutterstock]

Paul Hellyer, former Canadian Defense Minister, and leading UFO/ET disclosure advocate, had reportedly spoken about the 2001 UFO sighting incident.

Another document, dated November 14, 2008, contained information about the recovery of a metal fragment, reportedly part “of a vehicle that traveled in outer space.” The fragment, discovered by a pilot from Wollaston Lake area in Saskatchewan, was taken to the National Research Council in Ottawa for analysis.

Referring to a section of the document that stated that “Any distribution of this kind of information threatens National Security in addition to being a violation of the Espionage Act of the United States,” Viggiani said, “I am hereby releasing it to you and I dare the US Government to charge me.”

He then released the files to media representatives at the ET Disclosure Hearing.

But some UFO disclosure advocates were not impressed with what some described as a “bold step towards disclosure.”

“Some documents were released to the public,” UFO blogger Scott C. Waring commented in his UFO Sightings Daily blog, “but most are decades old. It seems the government only releases old records, rather than the new more important ones. “

UFO/ET disclosure advocates have campaigned tirelessly for decades, demanding full UFO and ET disclosure by governments. Disclosure advocates argue that the “massive hoarding” of vital UFO and ET information is unconstitutional and hinders the growth and development of knowledge about possible extraterrestrial phenomena.

“In a constitutional democracy, the government has always been given the right to keep secrets, but the government has never been given the right to lie to the people,” a UFO blogger writes, quoting Stephen G. Bassett, Executive Director of the Paradigm Research Group (PRG).

[Image via Shutterstock]