Chris Smith to Introduce Bill That Empowers State Police to Take Down Drones

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview Tuesday that he plans to introduce legislation to combat the Garden State drone issue after the Biden administration has failed to do so.

“I do have a bill that I’m introducing that is at leg [legislative] council right now that would empower the state police in every state with the authority to have a real capability on detection, as well as mitigation, including takedown of a drone, because the DOD is not doing it,” Smith told Breitbart News.

Smith spoke to Breitbart News as unidentified drones have been flying over the Garden State, bewildering residents who have wondered why so many of these mysterious crafts have flown over residential areas.

Multiple reports found many unidentified drones have flown around American military installations, such as Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County, New Jersey, and Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck, New Jersey.

The New Jersey Republican said that he had been told “just two hours ago [Tuesday afternoon] that they’re not ours, they’re not Pentagon, they’re not CIA, they’re not, you name the agency with three letters to it, it’s not ours.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Defense (DOD) released a joint statement on Monday declaring that drones flying over the state pose no national security threat.

Smith said he is “absolutely not” satisfied with the Biden administration’s handling of this issue, noting that there has been a distinct “lack of candor.”

He also noted that there has been a lack appreciation for the potential danger these drones may serve, noting that defense officials did not envision that al Qaeda would attack the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Africa, in 1998.

“Nobody thought al Qaeda would hit a soft target like that, even though there were signs all over the place,” Smith remarked.

He added that “no one thought” American troops would be put in harm’s way in Lebanon during the Reagan administration either.

Smith added, “I don’t want to hear we missed all the evidence, or we missed clues and signs, because there’s a whole lot of people that don’t wish us well, and it’s about time we realized it.”

The New Jersey Republican said that he asked DOD Secretary Lloyd Austin to give authorization to ascertain the origins of the drone issue.

Smith asked rhetorically, “And to think that there’s a drone hovering over 150 feet from our sailors, who are looking at this, where’s the order from [Lloyd] Austin to take decisive action? Seems not to be there.”