Jimmy Carter Witnesses a UFO in October of 1969

In October of 1969 in Leary, Georgia former U.S. President Jimmy Carter witnessed a UFO sighting. Carter was leaving the Lion's Club and on the way to his car he happened to look up. He observed a single UFO that he said changed shape and color. The craft could hover in midair and no sound was emitted. The entire sighting lasted 10 to 12 minutes. Carter is quoted as saying "it was at bright as the moon".

At the time Jimmy Carter was 45 years old and had not yet become the Governor of Georgia. He had been at the Lion's Club giving a speech and several other members witnessed the same UFO sighting. In the report Carter says that 10 to 12 other people were present.

The UFO appeared to them just after dark. The object appeared to be the size of the moon and had a bright glow. It flew close to them and then away again, repeating this movement several times. The brightness of the craft is what caught Carter's and his fellow Lion's Club member's attention. Carter said the luminous appearance of the object is what made them stay and watch. The object had stayed within 300 to 1000 feet of the men and eventually flew off into the distance.

Carter did not report the UFO sighting to the NICAP until September 18th, 1973, two years after he became the Governor of Georgia. Some believe it was made up because he wanted to run for President and wanted the American people to see him as someone who "was on their side". Until Carter, UFO sighting information was not easily available. During his campaign for Presidency he promised to have all UFO documents released to the public. Many people liked this idea because it showed that he was for the people and not the power of the government. Although Carter did not have all UFO documents made available he did open the door way to access more government information.

Carter disliked branches of Government such as the CIA. He had many CIA agents fired while he was President. This might have been the reason, if UFO's did exist, he was never told about it. He could have been a huge security risk if such information did exist.

He has always claimed that the UFO sighting was real far after his run for President and the public's declined interest in him. If he did see it then he joins the millions of others on the planet that have witnessed similar sightings.