Drones latest: Congress set for classified briefing about mysterious origins

Police have made arrests connected to drone activity in San Francisco and Boston over the last week.

Officials arrested Yinpiao Zhou on December 9 at the San Francisco International Airport after they claimed he flew a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base while taking photos of the area.

“This defendant allegedly flew a drone over a military base and took photos of the base’s layout, which is against the law,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “The security of our nation is of paramount importance and my office will continue to promote the safety of our nation’s military personnel and facilities.”

Then, on Saturday night Boston police arrested Robert Duffy and Jeremy Folcik for flying drones “dangerously close” to Logan International Airport. Investigators are searching for a third suspect they believe fled the scene, according to a statement from the Boston Police Department.

“There is not any truth to that,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said last week of the Republican’s claims.

“There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States,” Singh added.

“It is not the Iranians, it is not the Chinese,” he said. “They aren’t Martians.”

President-elect Donald Trump accused President Joe Biden and his administration of keeping people “in suspense” over the drones spotted in several states.

“Our military knows, and our president knows, and for some reason they want to keep people in suspense,” he said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday. “Something strange is going on and for some reason they don’t want to tell the people, and they should.”

Trump added that he did not want to comment on whether he received an intelligence briefing on the drones. House Intelligence Committee members will receive a classified briefing on the matter Tuesday, CNN reports.

MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that the US government is “in control of the drones” that have been spotted over New Jersey and New York in recent weeks, which officials have so far been unable or unwilling to account for.

Greene, who is well known for amplifying online conspiracy theories, wrote on X late on Saturday night: “The government is in control of the drones and refuses to tell the American people what is going on. It really is that bad.”

The congresswoman offered no evidence to support her claim but followed up with a second post, which went viral when it was shared by podcaster Joe Rogan, featuring a video from drone manufacturer John Ferguson.

Some of the drone spottings across several states in the US could be cases of “mistaken identity,” with residents unknowingly reporting legally-operated small aircraft, DHS and FBI officials have said.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also said some drones could be commercial.

The FBI has received some 5,000 tips regarding drone activity, but fewer than 100 were “deemed worthy of further investigative activity.” an agency spokesperson said over the weekend.

Robert Duffy, 42, and Jeremy Folcik, 32, both of Massachusetts, were arrested and charged with trespassing on Saturday evening after their unmanned aircraft system (UAS) was detected above Logan International Airport, according to the Boston Police Department.

Minnesota Senator calls for greater transparency from feds over drone sightings

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar called for increased transparency from federal officials on the mystery drone sightings across several states.

“One, we need a briefing for the members of the Senate to figure out what’s going on here,” Klobuchar told CBS News. “Two, we need more transparency.”

Members of the lower Congressional chamber are reportedly frustrated, too.

Democratic Representative Jim Himes, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News lawmakers are calling for more information.

“There are a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now,” Himes said. “The answer ‘we don’t know’ is not a good enough answer when people are anxious, when they are nervous, and this has been true since we’ve been a species on this planet.”