President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday that the government of the United States must know more about the mysterious sightings of drones along the East Coast this week, and if it doesn’t, the drones should be shot down.
“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country,” wrote Trump in a Truth Social post. “Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge? I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT”
In the meantime, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” Friday that Americans shouldn’t be concerned.
“Let me calm those nerves,” said Mayorkas. “We have not seen anything unusual. We have not seen any unusual activity. We know of no threat. We know of no nefarious activity. I want to repeat that: We have not seen anything unusual; we know of no threat and of any nefarious activity.”
Mayorkas’s comments come amid numerous reports of sightings of flying objects in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey. American officials have additionally confirmed reports of drones being spotted above and near bases in Germany and the United Kingdom.
“Let me explain,” said Mayorkas. “People are reporting sightings of drones. It is very common for individuals who think they see drones to actually see small aircraft, and we have six different people reporting what they think is a drone, and all of a sudden, we have reports of six drone sightings. So, there’s some duplication.”
Mayorkas asked about Trump’s post
When asked about the president-elect’s Truth Social post, Mayorkas said: “The statements I have made already are the principal message I want to communicate to the American public.”
“We haven’t seen anything unusual. We know of no known threat. Secondly, we have gone to Congress repeatedly asking for more authority to counter drone activity. And we have also asked for more authority to give to the state and local officials under our supervision because…those authorities need to be expanded.”
Secretary Mayorkas said he has spoken to Democrat Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy daily and that DHS has been in contact with New Jersey state police each day. He said the state-of-the-art technology that DHS has deployed “has not confirmed any drone sightings” but has confirmed “that some reported drone sightings are, in fact, small aircraft.”
“That’s not to say there aren’t drones flying in the air, but we have no concern at this point with respect to a threat or any nefarious activity,” said Mayorkas. “The reality is, you can have a 15-year-old kid who buys a drone off the shelf and puts it up in the sky. We have not seen drones turn their lights off in the dark. We have not seen drones penetrated restricted airspace. Those are two indicia that would give cause for concern.”
