'This was not the enemy': Trump White House says New Jersey drones authorized by FAA
WASHINGTON – Mysterious drones that hovered over parts of New Jersey late last year were authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to be flown for research and other purposes and did not pose a national security threat, the White House said Tuesday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said many of the drones spotted over New Jersey were also flown by hobbyists for recreational purposes.
"In time, it got worse because of curiosity. This was not the enemy," Leavitt said at the top of her first formal press briefing during which she delivered an update she said came directly from President Donald Trump.
In December, before he was sworn in as president, Trump called for the public to "shoot down" the drones unless the federal government could inform the public on who was controlling them. Without evidence, Trump accused former President Joe Biden of withholding information about the drones from the public.
But the Trump administration's conclusion echoes what Biden's White House said it determined a month ago.
Former Biden White House spokesman John Kirby said on Dec. 16, "We assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones."
Kirby then added that the Biden administration had "not identified anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risk over civilian airspace."
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