(The Center Square) – Following months of speculation and conspiracy theories surrounding mysterious drone sightings up and down the East Coast, the White House confirms they flew with federal government authorization.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, addressed the sightings during a press briefing on Tuesday, confirming that drones flown around the eastern seaboard late last year, specifically New Jersey, had been “authorized to be flown by the FAA.”
The press secretary quashed concerns that the sightings were attributed to foreign adversaries. “This was not the enemy,” she said.
“After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons,” said Leavitt. “Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones.”
Instead, the new press secretary pointed fingers at individuals for the increase in sightings, chalking them up to “curiosity.”
The White House comments appear to echo statements made by the Pentagon on Dec. 17, attributing a majority of the sightings were either recreational or authorized by the government. At the time, the Pentagon said that over 1 million drones were registered with the FAA and are used legally for commercial, recreation and government purposes.
At the time, the Pentagon reported that the FBI had received over 5,000 tips regarding the sightings.
The statement said, “Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, 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 stars mistakenly reported as drones. We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.”
During the height of the sightings, President Donald Trump questioned why the government wasn’t forthcoming regarding the sightings, vowing transparency when he returned to the Oval Office. In addition to the Pentagon statement a month ago, on Tuesday he made good on the promise.
