(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump suggested that the US government has not been forthcoming about mysterious drone sightings that have alarmed residents of New Jersey and should offer more information about the incidents.
“Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge,” Trump said in a post to his Truth Social network on Friday. “I don think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shot them down!!!”
Law enforcement officials in New Jersey — and more recently New York — have received reports from residents in recent weeks that have described what they cast as drones hovering over critical infrastructure sites such as water reservoirs, electric transmission lines, rail stations, police departments and military installations.
The sightings have sparked a wave of unfounded theories, ranging from alien activity to worries about surveillance from foreign powers.
White House, Pentagon and other national security officials have rebuffed the conspiracies about the drones and their origin, saying that there’s no evidence that they pose a security risk or of any drones entering restricted airspace.
“It appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully,” US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a Thursday briefing.
Still, the concern over the sightings has only grown and lawmakers are demanding more answers.
US Senator Andy Kim, a Democrat from New Jersey, said he witnessed dozens of drones Thursday night when he joined local law enforcement on a patrol through Hunterdon County, where they’ve been sighted.
Kim penned a letter alongside Senator Cory Booker and New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand calling on the federal government to brief them on what’s being done to identify and address the issue.
The drone sightings have also prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to impose flight restrictions over the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
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