‘It doesn’t make sense.’ Orange County officials, residents question fed’s reason for drone sightings in New Jersey
Leaders in Orange County tell News 12 they’re “baffled” by this explanation after a cluster of similar and still unexplained sightings around the same time in the Hudson Valley.
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All eyes seemed to be on the sky mid-December in the tri-state area, when hundreds of people reported mysterious clusters of flying objects for days, including seemingly unexplained drone activity.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained the sightings in New Jersey as approved activity by the Federal Aviation Administration for “research” and attributed other sightings to “hobbyists, recreational and private individuals” that made the sightings worse due to curiosity.
Leaders in Orange County tell News 12 they’re “baffled” by this explanation after a cluster of similar and still unexplained sightings around the same time in the Hudson Valley.
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus says some of the drones were the size of small cars and seemed skeptical about the federal government’s explanation in a Facebook post.
“What does that mean? I don’t know,” said Nehaus. “I don’t know what research and various reasons means. Various reasons is an open-ended statement.”
Pete Cirigliano, Orange County’s Office of Emergency Management commissioner, tells News 12 that the explanation “doesn’t make sense.”
He says there’s been no update from the federal or state government about the investigation into the drone sightings in Orange County and that the activity last month over Stewart airspace, that caused a temporary shutdown, was not authorized by the FAA.”
Many residents are also skeptical.
“I think they’re all liars,” Zaire Cooper, from Newburgh, says.
Lee Griffiths, from Wappingers, says, “What are they researching and why didn’t they just say so back then?”
Reyes Mejia spoke to News 12 during the height of the sightings last month when he took video of what appeared to show fast-moving flashes of light in Hudson, New York. He spoke to us again on Wednesday, following the federal announcement.
“It’s just another cover-up,” Mejia says. “I don’t even think they have the real answers.”
News 12 reached out to Gov. Hochul’s office for an update on the drone investigation in New York but has not heard back.
