Mysterious reports of clusters of drones being seen in the night skies over New Jersey and other parts of the northeastern United States have sparked an outpouring of frustration from members of Congress and led to a local state of emergency being declared in the region. There are growing calls for the government to issue an order.
Republican state senator John Bramnick of New Jersey called for a ban on all drone use until the mystery is solved. ABC’s Action News reported that he called for a “limited state of emergency until the public is briefed on these multiple sightings.”
Concerns over unexplained drone sightings began in mid-November with isolated posts on social media by local residents. The issue has been moving steadily up the political food chain, spilling onto the stage of state and federal officials this week.
On Wednesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy held a briefing call with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and representatives from Congress and state police to discuss drone calls. He stressed that there is “no known threat to the public at this time.”
Also Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence held a hearing on the matter. Robert Wheeler, the FBI official in charge of investigating the matter, acknowledged to the hearing that the FBI had not yet provided an explanation for the sighting.
Asked if the public was at risk, Wheeler said: There’s nothing known to say that, but we don’t know. And that’s the worrying part of this issue. ”
He told lawmakers that more than 3,000 sightings had been reported to a tip line set up by the FBI last week, but so far no progress had been made.
The admission that the nation’s best law enforcement agencies remain essentially ignorant about this mystery underscores the confusion that continues to swirl. It is unclear whether a group or individual is behind this phenomenon, or even if there is any credible problem. Some speculate that the activity may simply be confusion over a normal plane sighting, or that it may be the product of social media distortion. .
Sightings have been reported in eight New Jersey counties. Mayors from 21 towns in the northern and central parts of the state wrote a joint letter to Murphy calling for statewide action.
Concerns center on a drone spotted near President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course, as well as sensitive infrastructure such as power sights, train stations and police stations.
Recently, sightings have spread to parts of New York City and the suburbs of Philadelphia. Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, told a House hearing that drones were reported over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge near the U.S. military base.
“Especially the fact that they’re flying over sensitive infrastructure and we don’t know who they are, who’s behind them, what they’re doing. “It’s very worrying in a post-China spy balloon world,” she said, according to a local Morristown Daily Record report.
The Pentagon responded Wednesday, addressing a New Jersey Republican’s baseless claim that the shipment came from an “Iranian mothership” lying off the coast of New Jersey.
Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters that U.S. military leaders do not believe the drones or other aircraft came from a “foreign entity or adversary.”
He added: “There are no Iranian vessels off the coast of the United States, and there are no so-called motherships launching drones toward the United States.”
The U.S. Northern Command also issued a statement.
“USNORTHCOM conducted a careful analysis of this event in consultation with other military and interagency partners…At this time, we are not being asked to assist with these events,” the report said. said.
