New Jersey Assemblyman Erik Peterson told CNN‘s Victor Blackwell Saturday morning that the government is “lying” about recent drone sightings over the Garden State.
Drones have been spotted in recent weeks across New Jersey and neighboring states, prompting concern among residents and lawmakers and launching investigations by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. The FBI says that it has received over 3,000 tips related to the drone sightings, with most of the purported observations occurring at night.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a joint statement on Thursday that there was “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”
In a letter to President Joe Biden requesting more federal resources to investigate the matter, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said that since November 18 state police have been receiving reports of UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] sightings in New Jersey’s airspace. Murphy said in the letter dated Thursday that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas briefed his administration and the state’s congressional delegation “on actions the agency would take to learn more about the reported UAS activity.”
During an appearance on CNN This Morning on Saturday, Peterson, who was briefed by the DHS, accused the agency of essentially gaslighting New Jerseyans about the drone sightings. It’s important to note that the FBI is leading the investigation into the matter while the DHS is playing a supportive role for New Jerseyans.
“They’re lying to us. First, they say you’re not seeing what you’re seeing. There’s nothing here, nothing here to be seen. And then they tell us that they don’t know what it is. They don’t know what’s happening. It’s all a lie,” the state official said.
Peterson talked about his first-hand experience with the reported drones.
“I’ve seen the drones myself outside my house. I live in a rural part of New Jersey where there’s no lights. We don’t have streetlights. We don’t have anything. It gets dark at night. You can see very clearly we’re not in any flight path for any airlines or other craft. And you can look up in the sky and see these drones and the way that they’re moving, they move forward, they stop, they hover, they move sideways, they stop, they hover, they move backwards. It’s obviously not an airplane. It’s not a helicopter because it’s not making any noise. And so, it’s a drone. And they’re multiple of them,” Peterson said.
He continued: “And then they tell us, you’re not seeing drones, you’re mistaken identity. So, you go on Flightradar24 and you can see that there’s no planes in the area. So, they’re just lying to us that we’re not seeing what we’re seeing. And more importantly, they’re lying to us that it’s not a safety threat.”
Newsweek reached out to the DHS for comment and the agency referred to Mayorkas’ recent CNN interview.
Meanwhile, a DHS official said that the agency understands why people are concerned, which is why it is supporting New Jersey during the investigation.
Newsweek also reached out to the FBI and the bureau referred to its joint statement with the DHS issued Thursday which stated that federal officials take the threat that can be posed by UAS “seriously” and that “historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities.”
A drone flies in the skies over Bethpage State Park on May 7, 2020, in Bethpage, New York. Inset, the Homeland Security logo is seen August 26, 2011, at FEMA headquarters in Washington, DC. New Jersey Assemblyman Erik Peterson told CNN’s Victor Blackwell Saturday morning that the government is “lying” about recent drone sightings over the Garden State.
Bruce Bennett/Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images
Mayorkas told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room on Friday evening during a conversation about the reported drone activity, “We have not seen anything unusual. We have not seen any unusual activity. We know of no threat. We know of no nefarious activity.”
“It is very common for individuals who think they see drones, to actually see small aircraft and we have a case of mistaken identity. Also, 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,” the secretary said.
Mayorkas said that he has been in contact with Murphy every day and the DHS has its “state-of-the-art technology” and experts on the ground in New Jersey.
“That technology has not confirmed any drone sightings. In addition, it has confirmed that some reported drone sightings are in fact small aircraft. Pilots have not reported seeing drones. That’s not to say that 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,” Mayorkas said.
Update 12/14/24, 6:16 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from DHS and additional information.
Update 12/14/24, 6:35 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the FBI.
Update 12/14/24, 7:47 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.