On September 6, 2018, AURA voluntarily evacuated the site of Sunspot for security reasons.[5] This prompted the formation of multiple conspiracies ranging from Aliens to military intelligence operations to impending solar storms to FBI raids. These all originated from false information provided by the local sheriff[6]. A local TV station provided a call-in from a supposed employee with a disguised voice,[7] although this was later found to be faked by the reporter. On September 17 AURA re-opened Sunspot, following an investigation into criminal activity involving Apache Point Observatory personnel[8] Later, court documents reported that the closure was due to threats from the Apache Point Observatory janitor who was subsequently the center of a Federal investigation.[9] During the course of the investigation, AURA had decided to evacuate the site and terminated the contract that had been held by the janitor.[10] Apache Point Observatory had not been closed despite the ongoing presence of the suspect at that location during the investigation. The suspect was known by a few others who had been previously removed from Sunspot, or fired[11] Once the threat was no longer present, Sunspot was reopened by AURA.