NJ Mayor: Drones Should Be Taken Down, There’s Refusal to Do So Even When They Go Out to Sea

On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” Belleville, NJ Mayor Michael Melham stated that the drones around the state have to be taken down and stated that there were briefings “that we’ve had Coast Guard working with our New Jersey State Police, our helicopters have seen them. We asked, well, when they go out to sea, are we going to shoot them down?” And they were told the drones wouldn’t be taken down due to fears of what might be on them.

While discussing the briefing they had with the state, [relevant remarks begin around 37:25] Melham stated, “These drones have to come out of the air. And I think that, here in New Jersey, especially in the United States of America, I think we have the capability to take drones out of the air, if we wanted to. We were told during the briefing that these drones are hovering over critical infrastructure, and as you said in your intro, you’re talking about nuclear power plants, you’re talking about reservoirs, you’re talking about Picatinny Arsenal, Fort Dix, Trump Bedminster. … Yet, they’re telling us that there’s no credible threat. Yet, they’re also telling us they don’t want to take them out of the air. They’re also telling us they don’t want a temporary ban.”

He added, “[W]e were briefed that we’ve had Coast Guard working with our New Jersey State Police, our helicopters have seen them. We asked, well, when they go out to sea, are we going to shoot them down? No, we’re not going to shoot them down. Why not? We’re told, well, we don’t know. There might be a payload on them. There may be this on them, may be that on them. … The drones should be shot down.”

Melham also said that it is possible that the drones could actually be a federal government countermeasure.

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