Lauren Boebert ignited a fresh political and religious firestorm Friday after claiming newly released government UFO records may point not to extraterrestrials, but to "fallen angels" and "Nephilim" described in the Old Testament.
The comments came just hours after the White House and the Pentagon released the first tranche of declassified Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAP, documents under the Trump administration's new disclosure initiative.
In a video circulated by Right Wing Watch, Boebert framed the files through an explicitly theological lens, arguing that unexplained aerial phenomena could reflect supernatural rather than extraterrestrial forces.
"God is the creator of the universe," Boebert said. "He's never not going to create. So it's always been something in my mind to say, 'Well, how can we be the only ones?' Like, God's not going to stop creating just with us."
She then connected the discussion directly to biblical scripture.
"But the more I look into this, the more I see the Old Testament and what was told to us there, of fallen angels, and Nephilim. I mean, this is in the Bible," Boebert said. "There's nothing that says that fallen angels, that Nephilim, just disappeared. And so I believed that this could be an aspect of it."
The Nephilim are referenced briefly in Genesis 6 and have long occupied a controversial place in biblical interpretation, often described in religious traditions as giant or corrupted beings born from unions between divine entities and human women before the Great Flood.
Boebert did not identify any specific file or video released by the government that supported her interpretation. Officials involved in the disclosure effort have repeatedly said the documents do not provide evidence of extraterrestrial life or supernatural entities.
Still, Boebert expanded further into spiritual explanations for unexplained sightings.
"There are things that we have seen that could resemble portals," she said. "We serve an infinite God, a God of the universe. And to say, 'this is the only realm' is ignorant."
She added: "I wouldn't put it as Marvin the Martian kind of thing, but I do believe that this is more spiritual, and if you really want to go there, demonic."
The remarks quickly triggered backlash online from skeptics and UFO researchers alike. Podcaster Robbie Martin wrote that Congress had been "QAnonified to the point where nobody in their right mind will ever take a congressional hearing or investigation seriously again."
The broader disclosure initiative has increasingly blurred lines between national security, pop culture and religious speculation.
The Trump administration released 162 declassified UAP-related files Friday through the new Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, known as PURSUE. According to the Pentagon, the first release includes:
- 120 PDF documents
- 28 videos
- 14 still images
- records spanning 1948 through 2026
The materials were sourced from agencies including the Pentagon, NASA, the FBI and the State Department.
Among the documents are transcripts from the Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 missions in which astronauts reported observing unexplained lights and particles near their spacecraft.
"The American people can now access the federal government's declassified UAP files instantly," the Pentagon said in a statement. "The latest UAP videos, photos, and original source documents from across the entire United States government are all in one place, no clearance required."
The Pentagon added that further releases would continue "every few weeks."
Boebert is not the first senior Republican to interpret UFO discussions through a religious framework. Earlier this year, JD Vance said during an appearance on The Benny Show: "I don't think they're aliens, I think they're demons anyway, but that's a longer discussion."
Vance added: "Every great world religion, including Christianity, the one that I believe in, has understood that there are weird things out there, and there are things that are very difficult to explain."
Despite the political excitement surrounding the disclosure effort, the government's own scientific reviews remain cautious. A 2024 report from the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office found no verified evidence that the U.S. government possesses alien craft or confirmed proof of extraterrestrial intelligence.
