UFO drones in NJ: State of emergency call as ‘mothership’ evidence emerges

Nothing to worry about?

Not according to a growing number of lawmakers and local officials who are becoming increasingly alarmed about the number of drone sightings reported near sensitive locations in New Jersey.

One candidate for governor says it might be time to declare a state of emergency while two congressmen have called for the drones to be shot down. One of those congressmen says evidence suggests that the sophisticated drones are tied to a foreign adversary, although the Department of Defense officials said there was no truth to that.

DETAILS REVEALED: Closed-door meeting with top NJ officials about UFO drones

Drones tied to Iran?

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J. 2nd District, said “circumstantial evidence” ties “drones could be the work of foreign adversaries, specifically Iran.”

“Right now, we know that there are drones flying in from the direction of the ocean. We also know there is an Iranian drone mothership that is missing from port in Iran, with a timeline matching the emergence of these drones," Van Drew said Wednesday.

“The time to act on this information is now before the threat escalates any further. These drones are intentionally flying in uncontrolled airspace, expertly navigating around areas with radar coverage,” Van Drew said.

A spokeswoman for the Pentagon, however, shot down that theory, telling the Wall Street Journal that the drones were not tied to any foreign adversary.

UPDATE: NJ congressman refutes Pentagon debunking

Van Drew said the drones should be shot down in order to assess the threat.

“We should have already taken action by imposing flight restrictions to regain our control. Whether this is a foreign adversary or even just a group of drone hobbyists, we cannot allow unidentified drones to operate freely in our airspace with no consequences and it is time we eliminate the threat they pose and shoot them down.”

Time for a state of emergency?

State Sen. Jon Bramnick, R-Union, a candidate for governor, said a state of emergency should be declared to “shut down the airspace to drones and allow the Department of Defense to investigate.

On Tuesday, FBI Assistant Director of the Critical Incident Response Group Robert Wheeler testified in the House of Representatives that no evidence indicates the drones are threat, but added that "we just don't know. And that's the concerning part."

State homeland security officials met behind closed doors Wednesday morning with mayors from across the state.

What are people seeing? Army of drones

Police have been receiving reports about drones since Thanksgiving. The drones, some as large as cars, have been spotted near President-elect Donald Trump’s properties, power lines, a reservoir, police stations and military installations.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said he saw police footage that recorded more than 50 drones coming from the ocean, with more than a dozen trailing a Coast Guard vessel. Coast Guard officials said they did not know their origin.

Gov. Phil Murphy, who last week first acknowledged the reports, says they do not appear to be a threat. But those statements do little to allay fears because Murphy and federal officials have also said that they do not know who is operating the unmanned aircraft.

Murphy said the drones go dark after they are spotted, hampering efforts at investigating them.

Some reports have been false, with people mistaking planes or helicopters for drones.

On Tuesday, police in Parsippany-Troy Hills refuted rumors on the Ring app community claiming that a drone had downed power lines in a fiery crash. Instead, a car crash had toppled a utility pole.