The FBI is asking for help from the public in its investigation of thousands of drones that have been reported by New Jersey residents in the last month.
Robert Wheeler, the assistant director of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group, told a Homeland Security subcommittee that there have been more than 3,000 reports of both fixed-wing and rotary drones over New Jersey and recently, New York and Pennsylvania.
“We don’t know the people responsible behind that and that’s what we’re working on,” he added.
Members of Congress are flabbergasted that the FBI can't figure out where these drones are coming from and who is operating them.
“You’re telling me we don’t know what the hell these drones are in New Jersey? Is that correct?” asked Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas). “That’s crazy. That’s madness.”
That's the FBI.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) said, “The fact that we continue to say that we don’t know what they are and don’t know what they’re doing — the American people are looking at us and think that we’re lying to them, because how could you possible not have answers?” D’Esposito said.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) says that more than a dozen drones followed a Coast Guard cutter off the coast while law enforcement tracked another 50 drones coming from the ocean.
Another New Jersey Republican congressman, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, made the startling observation that the dromes may be coming from an Iranian "mother ship" off the coast.
“These drones should be shot down,” he said on Fox News, adding that “the military is on full alert with this.” He cites "confidential sources" who say the drones “very possibly could be” from Iran.
“These are from high sources, I don’t say this lightly,” he added. He made a point to rule out the possibility that it was hobbyists or the U.S. government flying the drones.
Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) is reassuring residents that the public is in no danger. Wheeler is also very comforting.
“There is nothing that is known that would lead me to say that" there was no risk. “But we just don’t know, and that’s the concerning part.”
Not very reassuring.
New Jersey has witnessed a startling number of drones since mid-to-late November. The unidentified drone sightings have also been reported in Bergen, Esssex, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Somerset, and Warren counties. Some eyewitnesses have reported seeing “car-sized” objects that appear to rise in the sky as the sun sets. They have been hovering over reservoirs, military installations and critical infrastructure.
In a joint statement on Dec. 3, the FBI, State Police and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said authorities were asking the public to report any information related to the recent sightings of possible drones flying in several areas along the Raritan River
Iran, China, Russia — it could be any one of them or none of them. What might be the most disturbing thing about this incident is that our federal law enforcement agencies and their billions of dollars in high-tech surveillance equipment can't track the source of the drones. And if they're coming from offshore, our trillion-dollar military appears unable to track them back to their source.
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