Recent drone sightings in New Jersey were authorized by the federal government, the White House said Tuesday, dispelling theories — including some floated on the campaign trail by President Donald Trump — about the mysterious incidents.
“After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday, in what she described as a statement directly from the president.
The statement closely echoes remarks from former President Joe Biden’s administration last year, which sought to tamp down conspiracy theories surrounding a series of drone sightings across New Jersey and other areas in the Northeast.
Trump previously suggested — without citing evidence — that the U.S. military knew where drones took off from and was willfully withholding information about the sightings. He also said that some of the drones had been spotted around his Bedminster golf course.
“For some reason they don’t want to comment,” Trump said in December. “And I think they’d be better off saying what it is if our military knows and our president knows. And for some reason they want to keep people in suspense.”
Starting in mid-November, officials in New Jersey and New York received reports from residents that have described what they cast as drones hovering over critical infrastructure sites such as water reservoirs, electric transmission lines, rail stations, police departments and military installations.
The sightings sparked a wave of unfounded theories, ranging from alien activity to worries about surveillance from foreign powers. White House, Pentagon and other national security officials repeatedly rebuffed those theories, saying that there’s no evidence that the drones pose a security risk.
