White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that the drones zipping over New Jersey residents’ homes are a “combination” of personal, professional and governmental aircraft.
“We assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones,” Kirby announced, per multiple reports.
“We have not identified anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast. The work continues,” Kirby went on.
Photos taken in the bayside section of Toms River of what appear to be large drones hovering in the area at high altitudes. Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesGarden State residents have been tormented by sightings across Morris, Passaic, Bergen and Hunterdon County since at least Nov. 18, sparking a public frenzy.
In response, federal authorities established a tip line and filtered through more than 5,000 submissions, with fewer than 100 leads “deemed worthy of further investigative activity,” an FBI official told reporters on Sunday.
Many of those initial tips were duplicative.
There are at least 1 million registered drones, including 8,000 that are legally flown daily, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In September of last year, the FAA relaxed its restrictions on certain drones being flown at night, which Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speculated may have fueled some of the uproar.
“We have not identified anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast. The work continues,” John Kirby said. Getty Images“That may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk,” Mayorkas told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “I want to assure the American public that we are on it.”
Do you have footage of drones over the skies of New Jersey or New York? Send it to The Post at drones@nypost.com.
Kirby pleaded with reporters to remind the public that there are myriad legal drones buzzing up across the sky daily. This includes drones used for the “betterment” of society.
Federal authorities have faced backlash from local officials for the lack of explanation about the phenomenon. Simultaneously, federal officials have long maintained that there aren’t national security concerns at play.
Federal authorities established a tip line and filtered through more than 5,000 submissions, with fewer than 100 leads. NewsNationMayorkas has urged Congress that he needs “additional authorities to address the drone situation.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced plans Monday to push for legislation that would provide more resources and authority to local officials to address the situation.
“The reports of the past few weeks have ignited immense anxiety and confusion for millions of people living across the Northeast,” Schumer said in a Senate floor speech Monday. “Thankfully, there is no reason to believe these drone sightings pose a national security threat.”
“But even so they can be disruptive if they fly over restricted airspace like airports or bases,” he went on. “In the meantime, I urge DHS to take all necessary action to deploy as many drone-detecting resources as possible.”
Both chambers are scheduled to break for the holiday season at the end of the week.
New York Senator Chuck Schumer announced that he is urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to immediately deploy now-unclassified, special drone-detection technology. John RocaPresident-elect Donald Trump, who has called for shooting down some of the drones, claims that the “government knows what is happening.”
“For some reason, they don’t want to comment, and I think they’d be better off saying what it is. Our military knows. Our president knows, and for some reason they want to keep people in suspense,” Trump, 78, said during his Monday press conference at Mar-a-Lago. “I can’t imagine it’s the enemy, because if it was the enemy they’d blast it.”
But when asked about whether he received a classified briefing on the matter, Trump declined to comment.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder underscored Monday that “we’re taking this matter very seriously.”
“Flying drones is not illegal. There are thousands of drones flown around the US on a daily basis. So, as a result, it’s not that unusual to see drones in the sky, nor is it an indication of malicious activity or any public safety threat,” he said.
“We’ll continue to do everything possible to investigate reports of concerning activity. But given how many drones are lawfully in our skies every day, we need to be careful to avoid assuming malintent or malicious behavior.”
