In 1987, a man named Gary Stollman broke into a news station carrying what appeared to be a gun. His request? That his alien manifesto be read live on air.

As it turns out, Stollman was the son of former KNBC pharmaceutical reporter Max Stollman, a family connection that allowed him to bypass studio security. Once inside, he approached KNBC consumer reporter David Horowitz, pressed what appeared to be a gun to his back and handed him a note.

What was that note, you ask? According to the L.A. Times, it opened with the following: “The man who has appeared on KNBC for the past three years is not my biological father. He is a clone, a double created by the Central Intelligence Agency and alien forces. It is only a small part of a greater plot, to overthrow the United States government, and possibly the human race itself.” Stollman then listed grievances about being mistreated in “CIA-run mental hospitals” and called for the release of “secret Air Force files concerning UFOs.”

As any writing class will tell you, you gotta hook ‘em with the intro!

Thinking fast, Horowitz began asking the man personal questions about his life, allowing the station enough time to go off-air while the police were called. When the police arrived, they managed to apprehend Stollman, revealing that the gun was nothing more than an unloaded BB pistol.

Here’s a video of the event and its aftermath: