The skies over New Jersey have been causing quite a stir. In recent weeks, residents have reported mysterious drones and flying objects, sparking fear and a flood of theories on social media.
Videos showing strange lights moving through the night sky have gone viral, leading some to question whether these sightings could be linked to foreign threats.
But federal officials are urging calm. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reassured the public on Sunday, stating there’s no evidence of any foreign involvement in these drone sightings.
“There’s no doubt people are seeing drones,” Mayorkas said during an interview on ABC, according to Digi24.
He added that many of the reports likely involve recreational or commercial drones, or even piloted aircraft misidentified as drones.
Began in mid-November
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Council have echoed this sentiment, explaining that thousands of drones fly daily in the United States without posing a security risk.
Despite these reassurances, the public remains uneasy.
The surge in reports, which began in mid-November in New Jersey, has since spread to other states like Maryland and Massachusetts. Lawmakers, too, are weighing in.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the federal government to deploy advanced drone-detection technologies and equip local authorities with better tools to address the issue.
Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar pushed for greater transparency, arguing that a lack of information only fuels public anxiety.
The mystery of the drones comes at a time when airspace security is under heightened scrutiny.
Nearly two years after the U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon, concerns about potential foreign surveillance linger.
However, Congressman Jim Himes dismissed such fears, stating that satellites offer adversaries more effective surveillance tools than drones.
The sightings have captured public attention, with online groups forming to track and solve the mystery. One Facebook page dedicated to the phenomenon now boasts nearly 70,000 members.
While federal agencies maintain that these drones are not linked to foreign threats, the growing public demand for answers suggests the issue won’t disappear anytime soon, but for now, the strange lights in the sky remain an unsolved puzzle.
