John Lear is a figure in ufology recognised for a range of far-reaching claims about extraterrestrial activity. His public statements, and the reaction they have drawn from other figures in the field, form the bulk of the record associated with him.
Lear’s association with Bob Lazar dates to their first meeting in the early 1980s, at which Lazar was a UFO sceptic who mocked Lear for his outspoken belief in UFOs.1 According to Lazar, Lear said that over a billion aliens were living in the mountains outside Las Vegas.2 Lazar has also said that Lear claimed there was an entire civilisation inside the sun and that the sun’s heat was not real but some kind of special effect,3 and that Lear said a person could breathe on Venus.4
Lazar has stated that he told Lear directly, to his face, that he considered these claims about the sun and Venus nonsense and that Lear was crazy.5 Lazar has also said he does not believe people took Lear seriously at the time he was making these claims,6 and that in Lazar’s assessment, Lear’s statements grew increasingly extreme over time relative to when Lazar first knew him.7