Dutch duo out on bail in trespassing charge at Nevada security site

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019 | 2:43 p.m.

Two nationals from the Netherlands who were arrested Tuesday for allegedly trespassing on the Nevada National Security Site were released today from custody, according to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.

Govert Charles Wilhelmus Jacob Sweep, 21, and Ties Granzier, 20, a self-described “YouTuber,” posted a $500 bond at the Nye County Detention Center, where they were booked on counts of trespassing.

Conditions of their bail don’t bar them from leaving the country. However, they are scheduled to appear Monday at the Beatty Justice Court, officials said.

The suspects were found about 3 miles into the federal facility near the gate at the Mercury Highway entrance, officials said. In their car, authorities found cameras, a drone and footage from inside the facility, which is located about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, officials said.

Both said they could read and write in English, meaning they could understand signage telling them to keep away, but that they still wanted to check out the facility, officials said.

Granzier has two YouTube accounts with have more than one million combined followers. On Instagram, where he has more than 400,000 followers, he posted that day from the Hoover Dam, saying he was heading to Area 51.