Mystery drones flying around Northeast U.S. were authorized by FAA, White House says

The mystery of the unexplained drone sightings over New Jersey and along the East Coast late last year has been solved, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said she was relaying the update directly from President Trump in the Oval Office.

In her first White House press briefing Tuesday, Leavitt said, “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.”

“Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones,” she added. “In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”

In December, mysterious drone sightings in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and other East Coast states prompted a demand for officials to find the source of the flying objects, some of which were spotted near military installations.

The FBI was the lead agency investigating the sightings and said it received several thousand tips. Local law enforcement agencies also investigated.

On social media, users shared theories that range from foreign interference to UFOs to hobbyist activity. 

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security said there was no evidence” the reported drone sightings posed a threat to national security or public safety or had any foreign connection.

But state and local leaders were pushed to find more information and come up with a stronger response.

Authorities said many of the reported drone sightings could be aircraft or helicopters operating from the region’s numerous airports. New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim said in posts on X that he “concluded that most of the possible drone sightings that were pointed out to me were almost certainly planes.” 

As Leavitt said Tuesday, former White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in December that many reports were determined to be “a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones.”

Some social media users had suggested they might shoot down the drones if they came too close to their homes, and in December, Mr. Trump also suggested shooting down the drones, though he did not clarify who should take such action. 

Emma Li and

Rhona Tarrant

contributed to this report.