Polish National Sentenced Under 1948 Defense-Installations Statute for Livestreaming Photos Taken From Tikaboo Peak
Michal Miroslaw Rokita pleaded guilty to photographing and publishing images of the Nevada Test and Training Range — which includes Area 51 — and was sentenced to time served. The charges invoke a Cold War-era statute rarely used against enthusiast photographers who have published Tikaboo Peak imagery for decades.
A Polish national was sentenced Monday to time served after pleading guilty to unlawfully photographing and publishing images of Area 51's host range, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada announced Tuesday.
Michal Miroslaw Rokita pleaded guilty to one count of photographing defense installations without authorization and one count of publication of photographs of defense installations without authorization. U.S. Magistrate Judge Maximiliano D. Couvillier III sentenced him to time served.
Between April 7 and April 14, 2026, Rokita photographed installations and equipment at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) and the Tonopah Test Range (TTR), according to court documents. The NTTR includes Groom Lake — better known as Area 51 — and both ranges are designated under 18 U.S.C. § 795 and Executive Order 10104 as vital military installations.
On April 11, 2026, Rokita joined a YouTube livestream hosted by the operator of DreamlandResort.com — the long-running Area 51 enthusiast site, monitored since 1999 from the nearby town of Rachel, Nevada — during which the pair showed and described his photographs and audio-video recordings. The livestream, titled "Our fearless Field Investigator Michal reports from his recent recon mission to Tikaboo Peak," remains publicly available on YouTube as of Tuesday.
Tikaboo Peak is public land in Lincoln County, Nevada, roughly 26 miles east of Groom Lake. It is the closest publicly accessible vantage point from which Area 51 can be observed, a status it gained after the military closed two prior observation points — Freedom Ridge and White Sides — to public access in 1995, citing the number of people photographing the base from them. Long-range photographs taken from Tikaboo have been widely published since.
Rokita himself is identified in Dreamland Resort posts and aviation-enthusiast communities as a prolific photographer of Groom Lake who has traveled from Poland to Nevada multiple times to do so.
The statute
18 U.S.C. § 795 prohibits making or publishing photographs, sketches, or graphic representations of "vital military and naval installations or equipment" without permission of the commanding officer. Congress consolidated the provision into its current section in 1948. The statute is activated by presidential designation; on February 1, 1950, President Truman issued Executive Order 10104, designating classified installations, vessels, aircraft, and equipment as covered by § 795.
Violations carry a fine and up to one year in prison per count.
Who prosecuted
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada announced the sentencing alongside Air Force Office of Special Investigations PJ Detachment 1 Special Agent in Charge Keaton Southwick and FBI Las Vegas Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Cowhig prosecuted the case.
The Justice Department did not publicly describe which specific images or recordings crossed the authorization line. Photographs of Groom Lake taken from Tikaboo Peak have appeared in books, documentaries, and aviation-enthusiast forums for more than two decades without triggering § 795 prosecutions.
