FBI documents detail reported UFO sighting involving Anoka police officers

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A screenshot of a video released by the National Archives of a multi colored object viewed by Anoka Police Department employees.  (Supplied)

ANOKA, Minn. (FOX 9) - FBI documents released through the National Archives detail a reported UFO sighting in 2025 involving at least three Anoka Police Department employees, including blurry video captured during the roughly 90-minute observation.

The three documents related to the Anoka sighting are part of the National Archives’ "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Records Collection," a federal archive created under the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act to preserve and release government records related to UAP sightings and investigations.

The records detail witness accounts, FBI review documents and video evidence tied to the reported sighting before the matter was later closed without further investigative action.

UFO sighting in Anoka

The backstory:

According to the records, the incident happened on Feb. 19, 2025 at approximately 1:17 a.m., when at least three employees with the Anoka Police Department reported observing a UFO near the western horizon. The witnesses said the sighting lasted for approximately 90 minutes.

One witness stated the employees had finished training and were conducting an after-action briefing in Anoka when they noticed a multicolored object hovering in the sky. The group later relocated to the Anoka Municipal Ramp to get a better view of the object.

The witness statements described the object as six "hula-hoops with lights around each loop" similar to an orbital diagram of an atom. One witness estimated the object to be the size of an SUV or school bus. 

"The object was a sphere shape. We saw red, blue, green, and white light emitting from the object," one witness said. "Best I can describe is a 'tie dye' shirt in motion. We speculated that it was possibly attempting to emulate typical aviation navigation lights however the object did not appear to be conventional aircraft."

The records state the object appeared to rapidly change position multiple times during the sighting. The witness later described the object’s movement as changing location in "three separate bursts" and said it appeared to move toward Monticello.

"The object hovered and then descended," the witness wrote, describing the movement "like a leaf floating on a breeze."

Another portion of the records stated the object appeared to travel "30–40 miles in a few seconds" with movement that "skipped across the sky like a stone on a pond."

The documents also state the object may have flown near the Monticello Nuclear Power Generation Plant.

The records state one of the witnesses was able to capture video of the object by pointing his phone camera into the lens of the binoculars, though it came out blurry. 

"It was too cold out for us to utilize some of our other magnified optics and night vision however in the future we will work on capturing better quality images and videos with some technology we have available to us," the witness reported. "I can only assume we will have another opportunity to monitor these objects again as they have been seen in the area in the past." 

What they're saying:

In a statement to FOX 9, Anoka Police Chief Andy Youngquist confirmed at least one of the witnesses was a sworn police officer.

Youngquist said the department has not received any additional sightings since the February 2025 incident and does not have any locally held reports related to the sighting outside of statements shared with the FBI.

Additional UFO sightings reported

Dig deeper:

The released records also reference an additional sighting reported two days earlier. In a witness statement, the reporting party said they observed a similar object around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2025 while on routine patrol. 

"I stopped and monitored that object for approximately 10 minutes. I did not discuss this with anyone until my coworkers witnessed this object with me on Feb. 19," the report read. 

Records also discussed another sighting in Anoka on Sept. 11, 2022. The witness observed an object hovering near the Anoka Ice Arena, and described it as hovering for a short period of time before it climbed rapidly and became unviewable. The witness reported recording the object on his cell phone.

What we don't know:

The documents do not identify the Feb. 19 object or provide a conclusion about what witnesses observed.

FOX 9 reached out to the National Archives seeking clarification on when the records were publicly released.