A puzzling spate of apparent drone sightings along the US East Coast is “nothing nefarious,” President Joe Biden says.
The Sightings in the last few weeks Accidents occurred in New Jersey and a number of neighboring states, some near air force bases. The phenomenon has given rise to a number of conspiracy theories about foreign involvement.
Authorities haven’t given many definitive answers other than to say that the sightings weren’t always drones and that they didn’t believe there was a threat to national security or that a foreign power was at work.
Members of the US House Intelligence Committee, who were briefed in camera on Tuesday, joined Biden on Wednesday in trying to reassure the public.
Among the committee members who spoke to reporters afterward was Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat.
“So far they have found nothing to suggest that there is foreign influence, foreign actors or even little green men working on the American people,” she was quoted as saying by The Hill.
In his own comments to the media, Biden said: “We are following this closely, but so far we have no sense of danger.”
He emphasized that the sightings were not evidence of wrongdoing. “There are a lot of drones allowed up there,” he said. “I think one guy started it and they all – everyone wanted in on the deal.”
In recent days, the sightings led to the temporary closure of a Stewart International Airport in New York and the Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Government authorities had previously said they had “noted anything unusual.” They agreed with Biden that many drones spotted had been flown legitimately by hobbyists and law enforcement agencies – adding that people had also discovered “manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and stars that were falsely reported as drones.”
However, questions from the public remain. Earlier this week, New Jersey man Noel Thomas described to the BBC his experience of spotting a mysterious object in the sky. He said it was the size of a school bus, rectangular with flashing lights and “definitely something I’ve never seen before.”
A police official in the same state said: “We’re just looking for sound, sensible answers so that people can get on with their lives and not live in this hysteria that we have.”
As the mystery continues, state governments are calling for more power to deal with the small, unmanned aircraft spotted in the skies. Earlier this week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said officials would send her a drone detection system.
Among those who have expressed their suspicions is President-elect Donald Trump, who said the government “knows what’s going on” but “for some reason they don’t want to comment.” However, he said he “couldn’t imagine it was the enemy.”
The Pentagon had previously dismissed a New Jersey lawmaker’s claim that the possible drones specifically came from an Iranian “mother ship,” while an FBI official said there may have been “a slight overreaction” on the issue.
