Today, Congressman Chris Smith, Ocean County Sheriff Mastronardy, Monmouth County Sheriff Golden, local mayors, and other state representatives slammed the feds during a conference on the mysterious drones flying over New Jersey.

Congressman Smith began by addressing the remarks made by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “On the large number of drones flying throughout New Jersey and elsewhere that have so far evaded identification, origin, mission, or potential threat to Americans, Mayorkas shockingly said this week: ‘We haven’t seen anything unusual. We know of no threat.’

“What? The massive invasion of drones observed and recorded by many of our citizens, including law enforcement and military personnel—many in this room—isn’t unusual? Is he kidding? How does Secretary Mayorkas, who infamously told us for years that our southern border was secure and closed—when it was not—now insult our intelligence by saying, ‘we haven’t seen anything unusual’? This is usual? And how can he—and others like national security spokesman Admiral John Kirby—say we know of no threat? How can anyone speculate or issue assurances to the thousands of Americans who have witnessed the drones that there is no threat?”

“For weeks, we’ve asked for the truth and action to mitigate any and all threats to people and property. Now we are demanding it,” continued Smith.

“As the sightings increase, including by servicemembers at Naval Weapons Station Earle—where several have been seen—or by the Coast Guard, which had one of its 47-foot rescue boats followed in very close proximity off its stern by numerous drones—why can’t we bag at least one drone and get to the bottom of this?

“The elusive maneuvering of these drones suggests a major military power sophistication that begs the question of whether they have been deployed to test our defense capabilities—or worse—by violent dictatorships including Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea,” added Smith. “The Pentagon has already said the drones are not ours.”

Smith also said that state and local law enforcement are precluded by law from taking more decisive action, and that he is drafting a bill that would empower the state police to seriously protect at-risk persons and infrastructure. If necessary, the bill would allow the state police to bring down a dangerous drone or drones. He has also written to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, asking the Pentagon to authorize the use of force to down one or more of these unmanned threats to uncover the mystery of the drones.

Sheriff Mastronardy then shared that the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office deployed a tethered drone last Saturday night to investigate. Mastronardy said that his units spotted drones they described as “going around our drone and traveling at a high rate of speed, maybe 60 miles per hour or more. In comparison, the Ocean County Sheriff’s drones only go 40 miles per hour.”

Mastronardy continued that on Sunday night, they responded to Island Beach State Park after being notified by the 911 center that there had been a sighting. When the sheriff’s units arrived, they met an officer who documented 50 drones coming from the ocean to the mainland, traversing the airspace over Island Beach State Park, moving down to Barnegat Light, and then coming to Seaside. Mastronardy said that they then notified the FBI, the NJSP, and the USCG. The USCG then deployed a cutter and reported numerous drones near their boat.

“We are taking proactive measures and working with Monmouth County Sheriff Golden, Cape May County Sheriff Nolan, and Atlantic County Sheriff O’Donoghue, trying to document if anything is happening off our coast,” continued Mastronardy. “We have flight radar tracking capabilities, and we see that many of these reports are not planes. On the other hand, we have many people reporting planes as drones, and when we check the flight radar and identify them as planes, people try to argue with us. The planes flying to JFK travel at about 18,000 to 20,000 feet in the air,” explained Mastronardy. “The planes going to Newark travel at about 6,000 feet. These drones are less than 1,000 feet. Obviously, they want us to know they’re there because they put their lights on. ‘Who?’” asked Mastronardy. “I wish I could tell you. People are saying it’s the government. I don’t know if it’s the government, but I think if it is the government, they have a responsibility to tell us, and we will be happy. But if it’s not, then we need answers. We see a lot of activity here, and a lot of agencies are working here in NJ thanks to the Congressman. Hopefully, we will have answers shortly. We are working closely with Monmouth, Ocean, and Atlantic counties to document and see what we have out there. We have teams from our CSI unit that go out when we get reports to try to document it,” concluded Mastronardy.

Sheriff Golden stated, “Our own military personnel, as well as numerous first responders and public safety personnel, have identified these items in the air. So for Washington to just dismiss these issues and say they are just planes is not good enough.”

Golden then explained that the NJSP and the Department of Homeland Security are operating with limited resources because the FAA and the federal government are the sole agencies in charge of the airways and drone operations. “We need to have our legislation keep pace with the laws and operations of drones, and it has not,” he said.

Golden then called on Congress to modify the legislation so that not only three federal agencies have drone detection and de-drone equipment, but that it should also be accessible to state police and units around the country.

Golden emphasized that this is a national public safety security issue, and that if these are foreign drones, it becomes a state and public safety issue. However, for the state to react, state police and units from around the country will need new technology to detect drones, whether they are recreational or commercial drones, and they will need laws to assist them in being able to de-drone.

“We see large commercial companies expanding into drone operations, but we don’t see any laws and regulations to keep up with that,” continued Golden. “That’s why in my letter to Congressman Smith, I included several points, including that commercial or retail drones should all show up on a map so that our first responders know that they’re there.”

Golden then explained that because of the laws we have today, the federal government is the only one able to resolve these issues. They are the only ones who have the law, technology, and ability to identify the sources. At the state, county, and local levels, we do not have the technology or the legal right to take one of these drones down, and until a change happens, we must rely on the federal government.

Golden then recommended that people download a flight tracking app to check if it is a drone or a plane before reporting something. Golden also emphasized that people should not shoot down any drones and that the public should report drones to the non-emergency hotlines available to the public, calling 911 only if they see one of the drones crash.