It’s a mystery that’s been ongoing for the last couple of weeks: Why are drones flying over New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and other East Coast states? Where are they coming from, and should Americans be concerned?
According to CNN, the drones were first spotted in New Jersey on November 18.
“Multiple low-altitude aircraft were observed in the vicinity of one of our vessels near Island Beach State Park,” Coast Guard Lt. Luke Pinneo told the Associated Press earlier this week. However, he added that he does not see the drones as an “immediate threat.”
“Based on everything we know, there is no public safety risks we’re aware of,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said this week, per CNN. “Is it frustrating to have no answers? Is it frustrating to not have a source for these things? Yes.”
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Another New Jersey politician has another theory, and despite debunkings, he’s doubling down on it.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), claimed last week that the drones come from a “mothership” somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, controlled by Iran.
NJ Rep. Jeff Van Drew doubles down on claim that mystery drones are coming from foreign mothership offshore: ‘We’re not being told the truth’ https://t.co/PPkj3ljrhJ pic.twitter.com/AMItuaCreS
— New York Post (@nypost) December 12, 2024
“There is not any truth to that,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said, Per CNN. “There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States.”
Per the New York Post, Van Drew went on Fox News this week and once again pushed the Iran idea.
“These drones very well could be launched from a ship. It could be hundreds of miles out at sea. These types of drones go much greater distances… Could it be China? Absolutely. Could it be somebody else? It sure could,” the New Jersey Congressman said on Fox.
GOP Congressman Jeff Van Drew claims, citing “very high, very qualified sources,” that drones flying over NJ in recent days are Iranians and being launched from an Iranian “ mothership” stationed off the East Coast. pic.twitter.com/hhGstswp9W
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) December 11, 2024
As for the Pentagon’s sharp denial?
“They don’t know what it is. They don’t know what it’s about. They haven’t taken one down to analyze it. They have no idea where it came from,” he said. He also said that “they” should “take one of them down” and analyze it. He also compared it to Chinese spy balloon incident in 2023.
Van Drew, first elected as a Democrat, switched parties in 2019.
Featured image via screengrab
