President-elect Donald Trump on Friday weighed in on the mysterious drone-like objects flying over New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.
Trump took to Truth Social Friday afternoon, posting “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!!!’
The call to shoot down the objects, first spotted in New Jersey in mid-November, echoes the calls of frustrated lawmakers who’ve lamented what they call a lack of urgency in the government’s response to the situation.
The call to shoot down the objects, initially observed in New Jersey in mid-November, mirrors the sentiments of frustrated lawmakers who have criticized what they perceive as a lack of urgency in the government's response to the situation.
Drone over Bangor, PA
Photo: WGOLV contributor
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut said Thursday “We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases.”
Trump isn’t the first politician to suggest the government knows more than it’s saying.
On Friday, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said she does not believe the U.S., “with its military capabilities, does not know what these objects are” and called on federal officials to “be straight with us and just tell us what is going on.”
In the weeks since the first sightings, social media users have reported hundreds of sightings of the objects, with one describing the drones as “large and loud,” and people have posted videos showing lit objects hovering in the sky at night. Many also posted photos and videos of the drones in the Lehigh Valley on our Facebook page of What's going on in the Lehigh Valley. Many also described them as being loud.
On Thursday, John Kirby, the White House’s national security communications adviser, said the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and state and local law enforcement agencies “have not been able to corroborate any of the reported visual sightings" of the drones.
The FBI and DHS said in a statement they have discovered “no evidence at this time” of “malicious activity” in New Jersey or a “national security or public safety threat.”
Roughly 3,000 sightings have been reported to the FBI tipline in relation to the investigation.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he "personally witnessed (and videoed) what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky,” and officials at Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey said there had been “multiple” reports of drones over the base.
Drones have also been spotted flying over four U.S. Air Force bases in the U.K, according to sources. It's not clear if those were related to the objects seen in the U.S.
The public knows almost nothing about the objects, but the Pentagon did reject a claim from Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., claiming they were related to an Iranian operation.
The Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh said “There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States.”
Lawmakers have called for more transparency, including New Jersey state Sen. Jon Bramnick, who urged for a “limited state of emergency” to be implemented in the state.
Senators Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Andy Kim, D-N.J. and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., sent a letter Thursday to the FBI, DHS, and Federal Aviation Administration asking for more information on the investigation.
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