NJ lawmaker calls on Defense Department to ‘immediately’ investigate mysterious drone sightings

A New Jersey state senator is calling on the Defense Department to investigate recent mysterious drone sightings at night amid growing public frustration over a lack of answers.

“Let me be clear: The state police, this is way beyond their expertise… We know the Department of Defense has the technology to monitor these drones,” state Sen. Jon Bramnick, RN.J., told co-anchor John Roberts on Wednesday. on “America Reports”.

“The problem is we don’t have the Department of Defense in New Jersey right now. And that’s what I’m calling for. Until the Department of Defense comes in, close the airspace completely to drones, make a limited state of emergency — no drones in the sky until we find out of what’s going on here,” Bramnick warned. “But without the Department of Defense, we won’t have any information because the technology is way beyond state officials.”

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, RN.J., said on “The Faulkner Focus” Wednesday that “highly qualified” and “reliable” sources suspect that the mysterious drones appearing in the Garden State’s skies are linked to an Iranian “mother ship” stationed off the US East Coast, a claim later rejected by the Pentagon.

Van Drew further called for the drones to be “shot down” and warned of potential national security implications.

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Bramnick said Van Drew raised a “serious issue” and called him “not the kind of guy who makes things up.”

“Based on what Van Drew said, based on what the public is saying, based on what I know and heard today, the Department of Defense needs to come in immediately, track these drones, find out where they’re coming from and what they’re doing here,” Bramnick urged.

“This is no joke. This is serious stuff. And what’s most troubling is that as a person I would never have believed that drones the size of SUVs in the sky — (I would believe) the Air Force, the military , anyone would know about it other than the citizens calling the FBI, it’s pretty disturbing, he said.

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On Monday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy commented on the sightings, describing the drones as “very sophisticated” and expressing frustration at the lack of clarity about their origins. A meeting was scheduled by the governor’s office for Wednesday morning in Ewing, New Jersey, but Murphy did not attend.

In response to the governor’s absence, Pequannock Mayor Ryan Herd remarked, “Where are you, Phil Murphy?”

“I’ve reached out to the Murphy administration. They need to ask the Department of Defense to get in here and get in here quickly,” Bramnick said.

The Monmouth County sheriff’s office released a statement Wednesday night urging Murphy to declare a state of emergency and issue an ordinance banning recreational drone use during nighttime hours.

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“The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and law enforcement partners need swift and decisive action from the State of New Jersey. A state of emergency will help address these growing concerns and restore peace of mind to local communities,” the press release read.

Rep. Chris Smith, RN.J., whose district covers parts of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, said he spent Monday night on a beach and talked to several people, including a U.S. Coast Guard commanding officer stationed at Barnegat Light.

Smith learned from the Coast Guard Chief that the night before “one of their forty-seven-foot vessels, boats, was followed very closely by more than a dozen of these drones.”

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On December 3, the FBI’s Newark field office released a statement seeking information about the reported drone sightings:

“FBI Newark, NJ State Police and NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness are asking the public to report any information related to recent sightings of possible drones flying in several areas along the Raritan River. Witnesses have seen the cluster of what appears to be to be drones and a possible fixed-wing aircraft. We have reports from the public and law enforcement going back several weeks.”

Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.