国会议员继续要求回答神秘的无人机活动这引起了东海岸居民和官员的恐慌，几位参议员表示“紧急关注”，因为白宫淡化了对一些目击事件的关注。
纽约州和新泽西州的参议员已经要求美国联邦调查局、美国联邦航空管理局和国土安全部的负责人在一封新的信函中向他们简要介绍这一问题。
纽约州参议员查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)和柯尔斯顿·吉利布兰德(Kirsten Gillibrand)以及新泽西州参议员科里·布克和安迪·金(Andy Kim)在周三的一封信中表示，“我们对无人机系统(UAS)的活动表示紧急关注，这些活动最近影响了纽约州和新泽西州的社区。”。
他们要求“尽快了解你们的机构如何与联邦和地方执法机构合作，以识别和解决这些入侵的源头。”
这封信说，大型无人机存在潜在的安全和安保风险，在“关键基础设施和敏感地点，包括水库和军事设施”附近观察到了这些无人机。
地方和州政府官员一直在呼吁对东北部报告的不明无人机目击事件采取更大的行动和透明度，特别是在新泽西州，一名州参议员已经呼叫在有限的紧急状态下，来自一个受影响县的20多名民选官员要求进行全面调查.
新泽西州女众议员道恩·范塔西娅(Dawn Fantasia)说，每晚有4到180起目击报告，她周三与其他州领导人和国土安全部的代表一起参加了一次闭门会议，讨论新泽西州的无人机活动。
她说，这些无人机“以协调的方式运行”，还没有被确定为业余爱好者的无人机或与DHS有关的无人机。
根据参加会议的蒙特威尔市长迈克·加萨利发布的DHS讲义，目前还不清楚是谁在操作无人机。
“在这个时候，根据美国联邦调查局，没有已知的具体或可信的威胁与这些目击事件有关，”讲义说。
白宫国家安全发言人约翰·柯比周四告诉记者，他们无法使用他们的探测技术“证实一些报道的目击事件”，但仍在调查中。
他说，“许多”报告的无人机目击事件似乎是合法操作的有人驾驶飞机。
“我们目前没有证据表明，报道的无人机目击事件对国家安全或公共安全构成威胁，或者与外国有联系，”柯比说。“国土安全部和美国联邦调查局正在调查这些发现，他们正在与州和地方执法机构密切合作，使用多种检测方法提供资源，以更好地了解它们的来源。”
他指出，没有任何报告或证实在任何限制空域看到无人机。
“也就是说，我们当然认真对待无人驾驶飞机系统可能构成的威胁，这就是为什么执法部门和其他机构继续支持新泽西州并调查这些报告，即使他们在这个特定阶段没有发现任何恶意活动或意图，”柯比说。
本周早些时候，莫里斯县的当选官员之一、矿山山市长萨姆·莫里斯(Sam Morris)在一封致新泽西州州长菲尔·墨菲(Phil Murphy)的信中要求对无人机采取行动，称柯比的言论“荒谬”。
“这意味着什么，他说我们都看到小型飞机，这是我的看法。我必须告诉你...我对此表示怀疑，“莫里斯告诉ABC新闻直播周四。“我会邀请科比先生到我的山——出来吧，科比先生——让我们出去一个晚上，大约9:30，10点钟。我要到市政厅后面去，你可以整晚跟我一起数。”
他说，一位居民告诉他，在罗克斯伯里镇的同一个地区，“每晚30到40英镑不等”。
“我不得不对科比先生说，那是一派胡言，”他补充道。
墨菲说，他周四与白宫国土安全顾问进行了交谈，“讨论了我对联邦政府对最近新泽西州无人机目击事件的反应的担忧。”
“我将继续代表公众向包括@美国联邦调查局在内的联邦政府施压，寻求答案，”他说在X上说.
众议院议长·迈克·约翰逊说，他将在周四收到一份关于神秘无人机活动的机密简报，称之为“两难”
“我很想知道，”约翰逊谈到无人机时说。
发言人拒绝提供简报的更多细节。
五角大楼表示，没有证据表明无人机活动来自任何外国实体或对手，驳斥了新泽西州众议员杰夫·范·德鲁的说法要求它们可能来自东海岸的一艘伊朗母舰。
五角大楼副新闻秘书萨布丽娜·辛格周三对记者说:“这不是事实——美国海岸附近没有伊朗船只，也没有所谓的母舰向美国发射无人机。”
“我们将继续监控正在发生的事情，”她说，并补充说，“在这一活动发生时，我们的设施从未受到威胁。”
美国联邦调查局的一名发言人表示，他们正在“尽我们所能弄清楚到底发生了什么。”该机构是调查目击事件的牵头机构
“公众可以继续拨打我们的800热线，或在线提交线索，我们正在根据我们获得的每一条实质性线索采取行动，”美国联邦调查局发言人说。
作为对无人机活动的回应，美国联邦航空局对莫里斯县的皮卡汀尼阿森纳和萨默塞特县的特朗普国家高尔夫俱乐部贝德明斯特实施了飞行限制。
一位发言人说，美国北方司令部(NORTHCOM)也在监控“新泽西州军事设施附近未经授权的无人机飞行”的报告。
“当地执法部门和美国联邦调查局目前正在调查，”这位发言人周三在一份声明中说，并补充说，目前北方司令部尚未被要求协助处理这些事件，但准备“在被要求或局势升级威胁到国防部任何设施时”做出回应
White House unable to verify some drone sightings amid 'urgent concern' over mystery activity
Members of Congress continue to demand answers onmysterious drone activityon the East Coast that has alarmed residents and officials, with several senators expressing "urgent concern," as the White House downplayed concerns over some of the sightings.
The New York and New Jersey senators have asked the heads of the FBI, Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Homeland Security to brief them on the issue in a new letter.
"We write with urgent concern regarding the unmanned aerial system (UAS) activity that has affected communities across New York and New Jersey in recent days," a letter dated Wednesday from New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim stated.
They asked to be briefed "as soon as possible on how your agencies are working with federal and local law enforcement to identify and address the source of these incursions."
The letter said there are potential safety and security risks posed by the large drones, which have been observed near "critical infrastructure and sensitive locations, including reservoirs and military installations."
Local and state officials have been calling for greater action and transparency on the unexplained drone sightings reported in the Northeast, particularly in New Jersey, where one state senator hascalledfor a limited state of emergency in response to the activity and nearly two dozen elected officials from one impacted county havedemanded a full investigation.
There have been reports ranging from four to 180 sightings per night, according to New Jersey Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, who attended a closed-door meeting on Wednesday with other state leaders and representatives from the Department of Homeland Security regarding the New Jersey drone activity.
The drones "operate in a coordinated manner" and have not been identified as hobbyist drones or ones related to DHS, she said.
It remains unclear who is operating the drones, according to a DHS handout released by Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, who attended the meeting.
"At this time, according to the FBI, there are no known specific or credible threats related to these sightings," the handout stated.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday that they have been unable to "corroborate some of the reported sightings" using their detection techniques, but are still investigating.
"Many" of the reported drone sightings appear to be lawfully operated manned aircraft, he said.
"We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus," Kirby said. "The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are investigating these sightings, and they're working closely with state and local law enforcement to provide resources using numerous detection methods to better understand their origin."
There have been no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted airspace, he noted.
"That said, we certainly take seriously the threat that can be posed by unmanned aircraft systems, which is why law enforcement and other agencies continue to support New Jersey and investigate the reports, even though they have uncovered no malicious activity or intent at this particular stage," Kirby said.
Mine Hill Mayor Sam Morris, one of the elected officials in Morris County who demanded action over the drones in a letter sent to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this week, called Kirby's remarks "ridiculous."
"So what that means, he's saying we're all seeing small planes, that's my take on that. I have to tell you ... I'm incredulous about that," Morristold ABC News Liveon Thursday. "I would invite Mr. Kirby to Mine Hill -- come on out, Mr. Kirby -- and let's go on out one night, about 9:30, 10 o'clock. I'll go out behind my town hall and you can count them with me all night."
He said one resident told him there's "anywhere from 30 to 40 a night" in the same area over the town of Roxbury.
"I have to say to Mr. Kirby, that's a lot of nonsense," he added.
Murphy said he spoke with the White House Homeland Security adviser on Thursday "to discuss my concerns over the federal government's response to recent drone sightings in NJ."
"I'll continue to press the federal government, including the @FBI, for answers on behalf of the public," hesaid on X.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he will be receiving a classified briefing Thursday on the mysterious drone activity, calling it a "quandary."
"I'm anxious to find out," Johnson said about the drones.
The speaker declined to provide further details on the briefing.
The Pentagon said there is no evidence the drone activity is coming from any foreign entity or is the work of an adversary, refuting New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew'sclaimthat they could be coming from an Iranian mothership off the East Coast.
"There is not any truth to that -- there is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there's no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States," deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Wednesday.
"We're going to continue to monitor what is happening," she said, adding, "At no point were our installations threatened when this activity was occurring."
A spokesperson for the FBI, which is the lead agency investigating the sightings, said it is "doing all we can [to] figure out what's going on."
"The public can continue to call our 800 line, or submit a tip online, we are acting on every substantive lead that we get," the FBI spokesperson said.
The FAA has imposed flight restrictions over Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County and Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Somerset County in response to the drone activity.
The U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) is also monitoring reports of "unauthorized drone flights in the vicinity of military installations in New Jersey," a spokesperson said.
"Local law enforcement and the FBI are currently investigating," the spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that at this time NORTHCOM has not been requested to assist with the events but is prepared to respond "when asked or should the situation escalate to threaten any DoD installations."
