Trump suggests shooting down aircraft above New Jersey as concerns continue

 

Trump suggests shooting down aircraft above New Jersey as concerns continue

 

President-elect Donald Trump posted to social media Friday saying the craft seen hovering around parts of New Jersey should be shot down, as lawmakers continue to demand answers.

For days, residents have flocked to social media to post grainy videos of lights flashing overhead believed to be some kind of flying craft, but the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have said they have yet to be able to corroborate any of those reports. |

 

By Sam Ogozalek and Oriana Pawlyk

12/13/2024 06:34 PM EST

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/13/trump-aircraft-new-jersey-drone-00194355

 

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday suggested that officials shoot down the aircraft hovering over homes in New Jersey that have spooked residents and sparked demands from lawmakers for answers.

 

“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

 

For days, residents have flocked to social media to post grainy videos of lights flashing overhead believed to be some kind of flying craft, but the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have said they have yet to be able to corroborate any of those reports. On Thursday, the agencies suggested that at least some of them are probably regular airplanes.

 

 

The FBI and DHS in a joint statement Thursday said that “it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully” adding that there is “no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey.” The agencies also said the reported sightings there do, however, “highlight the insufficiency of current authorities” related to who can take them down. The Secret Service earlier this week denied that the reported drones belong to the agency.

 

John Kirby, the White House national security communications adviser, told Fox News on Friday — ahead of Trump’s missive — that “we don’t have enough conclusions” to take down one of the craft. “We’re gonna share as much as we can. I understand it’s frustrating for folks, it’s frustrating for us,” Kirby said.

 

The phenomenon has seemed to spread to other states, with reports of sightings in New York and Maryland.

 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s investigations panel, on Friday requested a briefing from the FAA before Congress leaves for the holidays.

 

Blumenthal, in his request, said the briefing should cover “all details available regarding these drones as to ownership, operation, impacts on aviation, national security, and privacy.” His letter was sent to the heads of the FAA, FBI, DHS and Defense Department.

 

The FAA, FBI and Defense didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Blumenthal’s letter. In a statement, DHS said it will respond to the lawmaker directly, and will continue to respond “appropriately to Congressional oversight.”

 

Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), meanwhile, wrote on social media site X on Friday that, overnight, he and local police had gone out looking for drones — and they often saw five to seven lights at a time that were low and “not associated with aircraft” on a flight tracking app.

 

A few, he wrote, appeared to be flying in small clusters of two to four — and several “would move horizontally and then immediately switch back in the opposite direction in maneuvers that plane[s] can’t do.”

 

“This has gone on for weeks,” Kim wrote. “It’s hard to understand how with the technology we have we aren’t able to track these devices to determine origin and this makes me much more concerned about our capabilities more broadly when it comes to drone detection and counter measures.”

 

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday also posted to X a letter, dated Thursday, that he sent to President Joe Biden urging him to direct federal agencies to work together “until they uncover answers as to what is behind the [unmanned aircraft systems] sightings.” Murphy added that he’s encouraged that consensus is “building” in Congress around extending counter-drone authorities to state and local law enforcement.

 

And New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote on X that residents in her state had spotted drones this week: “At this time, there’s no evidence that these drones pose a public safety or national security threat.” She added that the state is coordinating with the FBI and DHS.

 

Former Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan posted Friday about seeing what appeared to be “dozens of large drones” over Davidsonville, Maryland, on Thursday evening, saying he had personally observed the activity for about 45 minutes. The public is “growing increasingly concerned and frustrated with the complete lack of transparency and the dismissive attitude of the federal government,” he wrote.

 

In addition to the Coast Guard saying it had observed multiple low-altitude aircraft in the vicinity of one of its ships near Island Beach State Park last weekend, New Jersey’s Naval Weapons Station Earle has also reported several sightings, ABC News reported Friday. (Earlier this week, the FAA said it had put two temporary flight restrictions in place to prohibit drones from flying near Picatinny Arsenal Military Base and Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey.)