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According to research company Enigma Labs, who studies unidentified phenomena, over 650 unexplained, drone-related, eyewitness sightings have been recorded nationally since November. Most of those sightings occurred in the northeastern United States, especially in New York and New Jersey.
On Tuesday, Trump White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the drones spotted all over the east coast were “authorized,” which makes absolutely no sense.
“After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by FAA for research and various other reasons,” she claimed. “Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”
If what she claims were true, then why, for weeks, did Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella say things like, “It is odd and quite bizarre that nobody can figure out who is flying these drones, where they are coming from, and their purpose.” He also stated, “It is not just a bizarre situation, but also a concerning one, as it seems these drones can potentially become a danger to personal safety.”
And why did Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis issue a statement which read, “Following reports of unidentified flying objects that appear to be drones flying above Staten Island, I’ve requested that the Federal Aviation Administration impose temporary drone flight restrictions in the area, in addition to requesting immediate briefings from the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Also, why did State Senator Jon Bramnick say, “Until the Department of Defense comes in, shuts down airspace completely to drones, do a limited state of emergency – no drones in the sky until we figure out what’s going on here.” At around the same time, State Representative Jeff Van Drew even claimed “Iran launched a mothership, probably about a month ago, that contains these drones.”
Plus, if what Karoline Leavitt says is true, why did the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the FAA, and the Department of Defense make absolutely zero mention of these drones being “authorized” when they issued a joint statement back in December?
And perhaps most importantly, if what Leavitt claims is true about the drones being “authorized,” why did the FAA issue an alert banning drones from flying over a large portion of New Jersey for a month? This move was something the New York Times called “the first broad prohibition of its kind since the authorities began investigating a spate of sightings last month that set off fear and speculation.”
Why would the FAA issue an alert banning something that, according to Karoline Leavitt, the FAA authorized in the first place?