Congressman Jim Himes, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the reaction to the mystery drone sightings over New Jersey has not been good enough but he said he’s confident that these drones are not from China, Iran or Russia. “I know it’s very unsatisfying for the people who want a Hollywood movie out of this,” Himes said.
On being asked as to how he could be so sure that these drones are not from any other countries, Himes said he spends all his day watching what the Chinese and the Iranians are doing. He said they won’t send a bunch of drones which America can easily discover.
“The military is amazing in what they do…What they are not very good at doing is identifying 12 teenage boys flying Walmart drones in New Jersey. The military is not very good at dealing with that,” Himes said.
Social media users slammed the Democrat leader for dismissing the drone mystery as child’s play. Some pointed out that those who saw those drones said that they are as large as cars and are super expensive — indicating that it’s not possible for teenagers to get those drones.
“It’s not a big deal. Just kids flying military grade drones in regulated FAA airspace…” one user said.
“He’s a Democrat so he’s obviously not intelligent,” another wrote reacting to Himes’ statement.
Latest updates on mystery drone sightings around New Jersey
The drone activity forced New York’s Stewart International Airport to temporarily close its runways for about an hour on Friday night. The airspace above Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio was restricted because of the drone activity. “I want to assure the American public that we are on it,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
“This has gone too far,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday, adding last month she “directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue.”