Lawmakers exiting a classified briefing with U.S. intelligence officials insisted they received assurances nothing “nefarious” is going on with the recent uptick in drone sightings in New Jersey.
On Tuesday, U.S. officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Defense Department privately briefed members of the House Intelligence Committee in an effort to assuage growing fears over sightings of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and fresh calls for federal action.
“There’s no evidence that anybody acted unlawfully here, or that any of these drones, in as much as the authorities know anything about them, are associated with anybody with malign intent,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the committee, told reporters after the briefing.
“I don’t think we have any reason to believe that they are hiding information. And, again, we asked an extraordinarily detailed series of questions of 28 people over a period of three hours.”
‘DRONE’ SIGHTINGS IN THE NORTHEAST SPARK ‘UNFOUNDED’ PANIC, SAYS EXPERT
Photos taken in the Bay Shore section of Toms River show what appear to be large drones hovering in the area at high altitudes in New Jersey Dec. 8, 2024. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)
But the uptick in alleged drone sightings along the East Coast has touched off panicked calls for an investigation from residents and state lawmakers. The FBI has received more than 6,000 tips from the public on mysterious drone sightings.
One theory can definitively be ruled out, according to Himes. The drones are not the work of a classified government operation, he said.
“We asked this question over and over and over again,” he said, “They are not [linked to the U.S. government]. We were assured.”
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder stressed to reporters that the drones seen along the East Coast are not a DOD asset.
Instead, the running theory among U.S. officials seems to be that there is no one reason behind the phenomenon, and many of the…
