 "Foreign threat or alien invasion? The conspiracy theories as mysterious drone sightings spread across US East Coast")
Over the US East Coast, a swarm of drones is lighting up the night sky, raising serious concerns and causing confusion.
Conspiracy theorists are rushing ahead with absurd claims of alien invasions, political meddling, and foreign threats due to mysterious flying objects .
Let’s take a closer look.
What do we know about drone sightings in the US?
There has been a trail of confusion and fear following reports of the mysterious drone sightings in at least six states: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
The Federal Aviation Administration reports that the drone sightings started on November 18 in the area of Morris County, New Jersey. Paul Kanitra, a Republican in the New Jersey Assembly, told CNN that since then, drone sightings have occurred every night. They have been observed over significant structures, restricted areas, and residential neighbourhoods.
Drones were seen over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf property in Bedminster and close to the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research centre, raising concerns, according to state politicians and military authorities.
At least one airport, Stewart International Airport in New York, temporarily closed its runways for around an hour on Friday night due to the alleged drone activity.
“This has gone too far,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Saturday, adding last month she “directed the New York State Intelligence Centre to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue.”
What are the authorities saying?
The sightings have put intense pressure on federal agencies to provide more information about the aircraft.
The Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, addressed the matter on Sunday on ABC’s This Week, becoming the first official to do so on camera. “I want to assure the American public that we are on it.”
He added the federal government is “deploying additional resources, personnel, and technology” to address the aerial drones.
Neither President Joe Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris have spoken on the issue in public.
However, a number of elected lawmakers and local leaders in New Jersey and along the East Coast have demanded that the flying objects be investigated.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for increased federal intervention.
“In response to my calls for additional resources, our federal partners are deploying a state-of-the-art drone detection system to New York State,” Hochul said in a statement. “This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed this call for action, demanding answers. “I’m pushing for answers amid these drone sightings,” he said, noting that it was “remarkable” that the public still had more questions than answers.
In New York and New Jersey, Schumer has called for the deployment of “special detecting systems,” such as Robin Radar systems as they have a better chance of detecting drones because of their “360-degree technology.”
A drone detecting device has been deployed, Connecticut State Police stated Friday, to aid with the investigation of unauthorised drone sightings reported over Fairfield County.
According to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, his administration is “aware of” and taking seriously reports of drone sightings.
According to the Democratic governor, on Friday night, he gave the Pennsylvania State Police instructions to look into the sightings more closely. Police will use helicopters to try to “determine where these drones are originating from and what the purpose of these drones are.”
Is it a threat to national security?
No.
The FBI and DHS said in a joint statement on Thursday, saying there is “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”
DHS secretary Mayorkas said, “It is our job to be vigilant. If there is any reason for concern, if we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity we will communicate with the American public accordingly. Right now we are not aware of any."
New York State Police said Friday afternoon, in a post on X, they had received “numerous reports of drone sightings over the past 24 hours” and they were investigating the reports.
“We have no evidence at this time that any of the reported sightings pose a public safety threat.”
Does it represent a foreign threat?
No.
Jim Himes, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, appeared on Fox News on Sunday, and said, “There are a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now,” Himes, a Democrat from Connecticut, told Fox. “The answer ‘we don’t know’ is not a good enough answer when people are anxious, when they are nervous, and this has been true since we’ve been a species on this planet.”
“People will fill a vacuum with their fears and anxieties,” Himes said, adding, “Oh my god, there’s an Iranian mothership hovering off the coast of Asbury Park!"
“Let me say something I know with confidence: It is not the Iranians, it is not the Chinese. They aren’t Martians.”
Pentagon Spokesperson Sabrina Singh addressed the allegations, saying, “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.”
What are the floating conspiracy theories?
Although these instances have been brushed off as non-threatening by federal agencies, the internet is overflowing with wilder theories.
One of the most prominent is comedian Roseanne Barr, who links mysterious drones to Project Blue Beam, a decades-old conspiracy theory made popular by Infowars founder Alex Jones. According to this theory, the government is getting ready to launch a fictitious alien invasion to impose authoritarian authority and widespread terror on the population.
Researcher Dr. Steven Greer Accurately Predicted The Rollout Of Project Blue Beam That's Happening Now
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) December 11, 2024
WATCH/SHARE THE LIVE X STREAM HERE:https://t.co/iRbKT1cEXq pic.twitter.com/3n27ycFglz
“Now you see why I mention Project Blue Beam every week on my podcast,” he tweeted on Saturday, fanning the flames of paranoia.
Known for supporting conspiracies, Jones last week endorsed Project Blue Beam in a conversation with Dr. Steven Greer, a urologist. According to Greer, the world’s elites are planning to use disasters, such as a fake alien invasion, to gain control of the planet.
“They all have this agenda to want to control the world through one calamity after the other, and the big one they’ve been planning is the hoax of an alien threat from outer space,” Greer warned on the show.
On the other hand, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, known for making controversial statements, claimed that the government is hiding the facts. “The government is in control of the drones and refuses to tell the American people what is going on. It really is that bad,” Greene wrote on X.
In another one, Greene endorsed an idea that drones could be part of a military training programme, perhaps preparing for drone warfare in the future.
“However, the government needs to come clean and tell the American people what is going on. That’s the most infuriating part to me,” she added.
Matt Walsh, a Daily Wire commenter, said that the drones might be the result of alien activity, which fuelled followers’ further theories.
So, what exactly are the flying objects?
According to the FBI and DHS, the majority of drone sightings are thought to be cases of “mistaken identity,” whereby members of the public mistakenly identify small, lawfully functioning manned aircraft as drones.
Mayorkas told CNN on Friday that some of the sightings might potentially be commercial drones.
“We know of no threat or nefarious activity,” Mayorkas said. “If we learn of any cause for concern, we will be transparent in our communication of it.”
In the United States, many people own drones, which are an umbrella term for unmanned aerial vehicles.
The FAA has registered 791,597 drones in total, about equally split between commercial and recreational use.
They are used in a number of fields, including as law enforcement, agriculture, and photography.
An FBI official reaffirmed during a news briefing on Saturday that the majority of the sightings were manned aircraft that were misidentified as drones. The officer noted that the visual sightings reported to tip lines reflected similar flight approach trends from neighbouring airports.
According to the official, out of the 5,000 tips that have been sent to the tip line, less than 100 have resulted in leads that are “deemed worthy of more investigative activity.”
The official stated that no proof of “large-scale UAS activity” had been discovered.
According to the FBI official, there has been a “slight overreaction” to the reports.
Still, “we can’t ignore the sightings that have been there, and we are concerned about those just as much as anybody else is,” the official added.
With inputs from agencies
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