Trump says most drones sighted over New Jersey were authorized by the FAA: 'This was not the enemy'

Most of the drones that were spotted flying over New Jersey late last year were authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to President Trump.

At her first press briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read out a statement from Trump.

"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," Leavitt read. "Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. And in time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy."

It wasn’t immediately clear what sort of “research” was being conducted with these drones. Leavitt didn’t elaborate on what the “various other reasons” could entail.

How did this all start?

Throughout November and December, dozens of drone sightings were reported throughout the East Coast — many spotted in New Jersey specifically — sparking concern, conspiracy theories and memes.

East Coast residents and local officials were so concerned over the number of sightings that at one point the New York Stewart International Airport shut down its runways on Dec. 13 for about an hour "due to drone activity in the airspace," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

Other state officials suggested there was more to the sightings.

New Jersey Assemblyman Erik Peterson, a Republican who said he had been briefed by the Department of Homeland Security about the drone situation, told CNN in December, “They’re lying to us.”

“First, they say you’re not seeing what you’re seeing,” Peterson said. “There’s nothing here, nothing here to be seen. And then they tell us that they don’t know what it is. They don’t know what’s happening. It’s all a lie.”

At a news conference in Seaside Heights, N.J., Mayor John Peterson Jr. told reporters, "These issues are very, very concerning, and the response from the federal government is very, very insulting."

At the time, the FBI and the DHS shared in a joint statement that they were looking into the New Jersey drone reports but that there was "no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings … pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus."

Witnesses who spotted some of the drones said they emit a loud humming sound and estimated some of them to be about 6 feet in diameter. They fly only in the evening, from around dusk until about 11 p.m. ET.

Most of the mysterious drones spotted recently are larger than the drones available to hobbyists and were seen flying in groups near critical infrastructure, including water reservoirs, power lines, railroads, highways, police departments and military installations.

What did the Biden administration say at the time?

In mid-December, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that some of the reported drone sightings "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."

When asked if the Biden administration was considering prohibiting all drone use in U.S. airspace, Kirby replied, "I don't know that we're at a stage right now where we're considering that sort of a policy option.” Instead, Kirby said the White House was calling on Congress to pass legislation to expand the right for authorities to identify and counter drones that are considered threatening.

In a December interview with ABC's This Week, then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas explained the FAA changed rules in September 2023 that allowed drones to fly at night and suggested, "That may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk."

Mayorkas also said that “there are thousands of drones flown every day in the United States, recreational drones, commercial drones.”

What has Trump said about the drones in the past?

Trump questioned the reason behind the drone sightings in December after a drone was reported near his Bedminster golf course.

"Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge. I don't think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!" he wrote on Truth Social on Dec. 13. (It is illegal under federal law for anyone to shoot down a drone.)

Then, on Inauguration Day, Trump told a room of Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago that he was "going to give you a report on drones about one day into the administration."

"I think it's ridiculous that they are not telling you about what is going on with the drones," he said.