A New Jersey senator has made an explosive claim that the US government knows the identity of mysterious drones appearing over the East Coast but is withholding the information from the public out of fear.
Senator Jon Bramnick called for a state of emergency whilst criticising what he described as a lack of government transparency over the unexplained aerial sightings.
The Republican senator told NewsNation on Saturday that officials must be concealing something significant about the drone activity, which has been reported across New Jersey and neighbouring states since November.
"Whatever these drones are doing, the government really doesn't want us to know", Bramnick said.
"There must be something going on that they can't tell us because they're so fearful of what the public's gonna do when they hear what the drones are doing," Bramnick added.
The senator accused officials of prioritising secrecy over public knowledge, stating: "What that must mean is they're more concerned with us getting knowledge and being afraid of that information than having no knowledge and having all these questions."
A New Jersey senator has made an explosive claim that the US government knows the identity of the mysterious drones
"There's no way the Department of Defense does not know what's going on," he asserted during the television appearance.
His comments come as officials struggle to explain weeks of mysterious drone sightings over sensitive sites across the region.
Since November 18, officials and federal investigators have been tracking reports of inexplicable aircraft, some reportedly as large as cars, conducting unscheduled night flights over sensitive sites.
The situation escalated when authorities were forced to close airspace over Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio for approximately four hours from Friday into Saturday.
Officials in Monmouth County, home to Naval Weapons Station Earle, have documented 63 sightings and shared a heatmap showing drone circulation patterns.
Local concern intensified after a New Jersey mayor revealed his fire department had been instructed to wear hazmat suits in case the flying objects crashed.
A New Jersey mayor revealed his fire department had been instructed to wear hazmat suits in case the flying objects crashed.
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas addressed the drone concerns on Sunday, revealing that a new Federal Aviation Administration rule may be behind the surge in sightings.
Speaking to ABC News, Mayorkas confirmed that whilst they cannot physically shoot down the drones, detection technology is being deployed to the region.
Hw said: "With respect of the ability to incapacitate those drones, we are limited in our authorities."
Both Mayorkas and New York Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed plans to deploy a state-of-the-art drone detection system, following a request from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Mayorkas disclosed that more than 8,000 drones are flown daily in the US for civilian and government purposes.
The White House's national security communications advisor John Kirby has emphasised the sightings pose no "national security or public safety threat".
A Department of Defense spokesman addressed the sightings on December 14, confirming activity at Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle.
"To date, we have no intelligence or observations that would indicate that they were aligned with a foreign actor or that they had malicious intent," the spokesman said.
However, they admitted: "We have not been able to locate or identify the operators or the points of origin."
The spokesperson noted that bases have means to detect and respond to unauthorised drone activity.
Local officials have urged residents not to take matters into their own hands regarding the mysterious drones.
Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden warned that attempting to shoot down drones would violate state and federal laws.
Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew has called for military intervention to shoot down the SUV-sized drones, whilst fellow New Jersey lawmaker suggested Iranian involvement via a 'mothership' off the coast.
The Pentagon swiftly dismissed claims of Iranian involvement, stating there is no evidence of foreign adversaries controlling the drones.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the city is investigating the sightings and collaborating with New Jersey and federal officials.
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