The New Jersey Drone Mystery May Not Actually Be That Mysterious

Across New Jersey, reports of mysterious drone sightings have been rising for weeks, with people contacting authorities and posting on social media about aerial vehicles behaving strangely, especially at night. The reports have spread in New York City as well, with alleged sightings in Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens. The United States Federal Aviation Administration imposed a temporary ban in New Jersey this week on flying drones over the Army’s Picatinny Arsenal in Wharton and a golf course owned by US president-elect Donald Trump in Bedminster. While the mystery has become a growing sensation, virtually no information has been available about whether the sightings are connected or represent anything out of the ordinary.

Vague and noncommittal statements from state and federal authorities have only complicated the matter and fueled public intrigue. On Thursday, though, a joint FBI and Department of Homeland Security statement emphasized that ongoing state- and federal-level investigations have found no evidence of foreign involvement or a threat of any kind. The Department of Defense shared the same conclusion in a press conference on Wednesday. Furthermore, the FBI and DHS added that none of the sightings have been verified to have been drones at all.

“We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection,” US authorities said in a statement. “To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.”

Multiple federal agencies have been collaborating with New Jersey State Police on the investigation, but the FBI and DHS noted in their statement that, “while there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities,” seemingly referring to weeks of uncertainty about which institution was responsible for producing a public explanation for the sightings.

“Today, I spoke with Liz Sherwood-Randall, White House homeland security adviser, to discuss my concerns over the federal government’s response to recent drone sightings in NJ,” New Jersey governor Phil Murphy wrote in a social media post on Thursday. “I’ll continue to press the federal government, including the FBI, for answers on behalf of the public.”

Other politicians, including Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrats from New York, and senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim, Democrats from New Jersey, sent a letter to the FBI, DHS, and Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday to demand more transparency and a briefing about the investigation.