(NewsNation) — U.S. Rep. Chris Smith joined “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” to discuss the large number of mysterious drones that have been reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent weeks.
Smith is one of two Republican Jersey Shore-area congressmen calling on the military to shoot down the drones, citing safety concerns.
“Many law enforcement people have told me, including one chief of police, that he was skeptical. Then he saw a dozen of them,” Smith said. “And they’re in formation.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and law enforcement officials have stressed that the drones don’t appear to be a threat to public safety, but it is still not known exactly what they are or who is behind them.
As pressure is on to uncover the truth behind the mysterious objects, Smith wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, asking him to use all the capabilities of the Department of Defense to identify the objects and assess whether they are threats.
“We have the capability to shoot them now, but to do it in a place where there would not be any threat to anybody on the ground,” Smith said. “Just do it.”
“They’re over the ocean too, and they’re over water bodies,” Smith continued. “There are ways of doing this in a sophisticated approach that’s aggressive and put it to rest. If this is a nothing burger, tell us. But don’t sit there and say, well, we can’t collaborate.”
The Pentagon insists the drones do not represent a threat from abroad.
“I think we’re dismissing this very prematurely,” Smith said. “We need answers, and that was days ago. We still don’t have any answers. Crickets.”
Federal investigation into New Jersey drones
The Pentagon says it currently does not appear that a foreign enemy is behind the mysterious drones in the New Jersey sky.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew claimed the drones are being launched by an Iranian “mothership,” but Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said during a briefing there is “not any truth to that.”
With the investigation ongoing, the sheriff in Monmouth County, New Jersey, has called for the governor to declare a state of emergency and to issue an executive order banning nighttime use of recreational drones.
