NJ state senator calls for 'limited state of emergency' over drone sightings

A New Jersey state senator is calling for "a limited state of emergency” over recent drone sightings in the state.

“The State of New Jersey should issue a limited state of emergency banning all drones until the public receives an explanation regarding these multiple sightings,” state Sen. Jon Bramnick (R) said in a statement Tuesday.

The Garden State’s governor, Phil Murphy (D), said Monday that he is taking unidentified drone flights in his state “deadly seriously.”

“These are apparently … as I understand it, very sophisticated,” Murphy told a group of reporters.

“The minute you get eyes on them, they go dark. And, you know, we’re obviously most concerned about sensitive targets and sensitive, critical infrastructure. We’ve got military assets, we’ve got utility assets, we’ve got the president-elect’s, one of his homes, here. This is something we’re taking deadly seriously,” he added.

Last week, in a post on the social platform X, Murphy said he convened a briefing to "discuss reported drone activity over parts of North and Central New Jersey," which included Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, others in the Department of Homeland Security, New Jersey government officials and members of the state's congressional delegation.

The FBI’s field office in Newark, N.J., said last Tuesday that, alongside New Jersey authorities, it was “asking for the public to report any information related to the recent sightings of possible drones flying in several areas along the Raritan River.”

“Witnesses have spotted the cluster of what look to be drones and a possible fixed wing aircraft. We have reports from the public and law enforcement dating back several weeks,” the field office added in a release.

The Hill has reached out to Murphy’s office for comment.

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