Weeks of drone sightings in several East Coast states have panicked residents and left local lawmakers demanding answers from the federal government. On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump offered some alternatives: the government should let the public know what it knows about the drones, or simply “shoot them down.” It was not clear whether Trump was suggesting that the government or ordinary citizens do the shooting.
“Mysterious drone sightings across the country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Can this really happen without the knowledge of our government? I don’t think so! Let the public know, now. Otherwise, shoot them!!!”
Sightings of unidentified flying objects at night have been reported in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. According to NBC News, the sightings have been going on for almost a month.
The lack of clarity about what the aerial objects might be, where they come from and whether they pose a threat to national security or public safety has fueled unease over the sightings. The White House has said it “currently has no evidence that these reported sightings pose a threat to national security or public safety, or have a foreign link.”
Still, lawmakers from the Northeast have urged the Biden administration to provide answers about — or at least help investigate — what those objects are and where they come from. On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy asked the Biden administration for federal resources to “understand what’s behind this activity.” Maryland Governor Larry Hogan wrote on the government on the observations. .
Drone activity even caused about an hour’s worth of disruption at an airport in Orange County, New York, on Friday evening, prompting Governor Kathy Hochul to declare: “This has gone too far.”
Trump is not the only politician proposing to shoot down the drones. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a Democrat, has said they should be shot “if necessary.” Rep. Jeff Van Drew, RN.J., has also called for the drones to be shot down, claiming they came from an Iranian ship off the East Coast, a suggestion the Defense Department roundly rejected.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
