Airport closure and New Jersey senator’s alarming revelations escalate drone controversy

New York Governor Kathy Hochul criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the drone crisis on the east coast, deeming the situation as excessive. The drones caused Stewart Airfield to close its airspace for over an hour, prompting Hochul to urge the federal government to intervene.

Hochul’s disapproval follows a joint effort by New York Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Chuck Schumer, and New Jersey Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim. They penned a letter to the FBI, FAA, and Homeland Security seeking clarification regarding the ongoing drone incidents.

These collective actions demonstrate a unified front from local officials demanding swift and effective responses to address the escalating drone issue plaguing the region.

The letter insisted on an urgent briefing as the lawmakers, all Democrats, called on Biden to step up in handling the situation and reveal the mysterious source of the drones. 

They noted that ‘since late November, communities in the New York City area and northern New Jersey have reported several incidents of unattributable drone sightings at night, alarming both residents and local law enforcement.’ 

‘The potential safety and security risks posed by these drones in civilian areas is especially pertinent considering recent drone incursions at sensitive military sites in and outside of the continental United States over the past year,’ the letter read. 

The Biden administration has maintained that the drones are not a public safety risk and pose no threat to the nation’s security. 

But many officials and members of the public have been left unsatisfied by that answer, with it still unclear where the drones came from or what they are doing in the East Coast skies. 

A wave of footage has emerged of the drones since they were first spotted last month, with some of the clearest video yet coming this week in Somerset County, New Jersey. 

The video shows three ‘mystery drones in the air’ as two move extremely close as if they are interacting with each other and the third hovered for ‘about 15 minutes.’

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said Monday night that the drones are ‘very sophisticated, explaining: ‘The minute we get eyes on them [the drones], they go dark.’

‘I don’t blame people for being frustrated,’ Gov Murphy continued, adding that he had spent most of Sunday coordinating on the issue with both the White House and the US Department of Homeland Security in the hope of getting answers. 

This call for urgent answers was echoed in Hochul’s statement following the airport closure, as she said she is still in the dark despite asking for clarity a month ago. 

‘In mid-November, I directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue, and those efforts are ongoing,’ she said. 

‘But in order to allow state law enforcement to work on this issue, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. 

‘This bill would reform legal authorities to counter-UAS and strengthen the FAA’s oversight of drones, and would extend counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies.’ 

New Jersey Senator Andy Kim took to X to share his own account of the drones after he went out at night with local police to observe the UFOs. 

‘We drove to Round Valley Reservoir and the officer pointed to lights moving low over the tree line. Sometimes they were solid white light, others flashed of red and green,’ Kim wrote in a thread with multiple videos of the drones. 

Although some have claimed the drones may likely be just airplanes and helicopters, Kim dismissed this theory as he said his group used a flight tracker to note where tracked aircraft was. 

‘We often saw about 5-7 lights at a time that were low and not associated with aircraft we could see on the tracker app,’ he continued. ‘Some hovered while others moved across the horizon.’ 

Kim said cops told him they have been seeing the drones every evening, and they only seem to emerge after dark and disappear before dawn. 

The fury on Capitol Hill reached fever pitch after White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby insisted that the public had nothing to fear, but admitted that officials were still struggling to corroborate some of the reports.

The FBI has received more than 3,000 tips since the first sighting on November 18, with reports of varying levels of credibility cropping up in at least 12 counties throughout New Jersey, as well as eastern Pennsylvania and Orange County, New York.

Amid the uncertainty, the president-elect called for answers from the US Government as he slammed the Biden administration and urged them to shoot down the UFOs.

But this was rejected by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas who said that the government does not have the authority to neutralize the drones.

Mayorkas echoed previous comments made by Kirby and suggested that some of the reports could be cases of mistaken identity related to manned aircraft.