DRONE SIGHTINGS: White House silent as thousands see UFOs and drones

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., fired back after high-ranking officials dismissed claims he gathered from "very qualified" and "reliable" sources linking mystery drones flying over New Jersey airspace to an Iranian "mothership" parked off the U.S. East Coast.

"They've been incredibly stupid and incredibly weak with this," Van Drew said Thursday on "America's Newsroom."

"We know they're not backyard drones that some hobbyist is using because they're much more sophisticated than that. We know that they're not a commercial company within the United States because we don't even have this level of sophistication yet. We are a full decade behind where China is with drones. The government claims it's not them. They say it's not them, so who is it?"

He continued, "I have credible individuals who have high security ratings, and they came to me and again, these are dependable, credible individuals that have security clearance that felt that they wanted to clear the air. They were, in essence, whistleblowers, and they believe there's a real possibility it could be Iran, that there could be a ship not right on the coast of New Jersey. These drones, as cited by the Coast Guard, are coming in and out of the ocean. They're going to the ocean. They're not pontoons. They're not landing on the water. They're landing on something. We're not being told the truth. They are dealing with the American public like we're stupid."

Mystery drones have been populating airspace over the Garden State for approximately a month, soaring over residential areas with flashing lights and no clear motive, prompting officials and state residents to demand answers regarding their origins.

Van Drew, who sits on the Transportation Committee and the Aviation Subcommittee, initially claimed Wednesday that confidential but "responsible" sources told him the mysterious aircraft came from an Iranian mothership, though the claim has not been verified. He also called for the drones to be "shot down."

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