Biden Admin Officials continue to say New Jersey drones are mix of police, hobbyists, commercial UAVs
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — “We have not identified anything anomalous, and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast,” read the Monday statement released from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Defense Department, and the Federal Aviation Administration as the federal agencies said they had deployed drone-detecting technology and “trained visual observers” to get to the bottom of the mysterious flights that are sparking increasing fear among the American public.
Monday’s explanation came after a week of weak excuses.
A senior FBI official on Tuesday called the drones “concerning,” as the Biden Administration's agencies did confirm drone sightings over military bases – something they had downplayed or denied last week – but said they weren’t worrying.“Such sightings near or over DoD installations are not new,” the agencies said. “Local commanders are actively engaged to ensure there are appropriate detection and mitigation measures in place.”
The sightings started a month ago in New Jersey but have since spread to other states, including New York and Pennsylvania.
Biden Administration officials said they expect more drone sightings as the number of devices in public hands rises.
A number of lawmakers from the region had wondered why federal authorities weren’t shooting them down already.
Biden Administration officials said they expect more drone sightings as the number of devices in public hands rises.
A number of lawmakers from the region had wondered why federal authorities weren’t shooting them down already.
“Why can’t we bad at least one drone and get to the bottom of this?” Rep. Chris Smith said at a news conference Saturday.
Earlier Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump weighed in, saying he figured the government knew what was going on but was being coy.
“For some reason they don’t want to comment,” he said. “I think they’d be better off saying what it is.
“Our military knows, and our president knows, and for some reason, they want to keep (the American) people in suspense. If it was the enemy, they’d blast it out.
"Something strange is going on – for some reason, they don’t want to tell people,” said Trump, who declined to say whether or not he’d received an intelligence briefing on the matter.
“Our military knows, and our president knows, and for some reason, they want to keep (the American) people in suspense. If it was the enemy, they’d blast it out.
"Something strange is going on – for some reason, they don’t want to tell people,” said Trump, who declined to say whether or not he’d received an intelligence briefing on the matter.
After escalating concerns, and details released by increased media coverage of unaccounted for drone activity, by Thursday the FBI and Homeland Security said they had ruled out "nefarious motives" or foreign governments as the source of the drones.A White House spokesman said most of the sightings were airplanes anyway.
One of New Jersey's two Democrat Senators, Andy Kim was nonetheless initially resistant to that notion.
He himself had gone out drone-spotting, and had a flight tracking app to be able to rule out airplane traffic.
He said he saw drones doing things that airplanes couldn’t have replicated.
"Last night I went out with local police to spot drone flying over New Jersey. Here’s what I saw.
"We drove to Round Valley Reservoir and the officer pointed to lights moving low over the tree line. Sometimes they were solid white light, others flashed of red and green,” he said on X.
"We saw a few that looked like they were moving in small clusters of 2-4.
“We clearly saw several that would move horizontally, and then immediately switch back in the opposite direction in maneuvers that [a] plane can’t do," Kim said.
"We drove to Round Valley Reservoir and the officer pointed to lights moving low over the tree line. Sometimes they were solid white light, others flashed of red and green,” he said on X.
"We saw a few that looked like they were moving in small clusters of 2-4.
“We clearly saw several that would move horizontally, and then immediately switch back in the opposite direction in maneuvers that [a] plane can’t do," Kim said.
Biden Administration and White House Officials continue to say some of the drones are law enforcement, some are commercial flights, some are hobbyists, and many are actually airplanes, helicopters or even stars mistaken for drones.
