Congressman Chris Smith was on Long Beach Island with Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy today, the sheriff who led efforts to determine the source and possible risks related to the drone activity that has been reported in Ocean County over the last few days. Representative Smith issued the following statement for both Monmouth and Ocean county residents:
“I have been speaking with Ocean County Sheriff Mastronardy, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, and national security officials in the area discussing the widespread reports of unidentified drone activity across my central New Jersey congressional district and across our state.
Understandably, Smith said, New Jersey residents are alarmed at the significant and reoccurring phenomenon—and the tepid response from state and federal agencies so far, he said, “is totally unacceptable. As we saw with the Chinese spy balloon last year, our fiercest adversaries will stop at nothing to surveil our homeland and threaten our national security.”
While the source of this drone activity is still to be determined, the Congressman continued, “it is clear that the communication channels and proper authorities among local law enforcement and federal partners must be drastically improved in order to work quickly through deconfliction and security challenges as unmanned aerial systems become more prevalent.”
Smith believes New Jerseyans deserve swift and bold action on the part of state and federal agencies to investigate, assess, and address the situation immediately and to alleviate the growing concerns of our community.
“I have already made inquiries to various federal agencies regarding their response to these sightings after being briefed by the Governor, the State Police, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and U.S. military personnel over the past week. I will continue working around the clock to ensure law enforcement has all the tools and authorities necessary to identify these unmanned aerial systems and until New Jersey residents have the comprehensive answers they deserve,” Smith said, following his meeting with the Sheriff.
See What the Congressman Had to Say on Fox News HERE
shoot em down