Representative Jim Himes, a Connecticut Democrat, on Sunday quickly dismissed Fox News host Jacqui Heinrich’s suggestion that the recently reported drone sightings over the Northeast are a potential “Pearl Harbor moment.”
Drones have been spotted in recent weeks across New Jersey, New York and other nearby states, prompting concern among residents and lawmakers and launching investigations by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assured Americans in a joint statement on Thursday that there was “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.” However, with few answers given by federal officials about the matter and state and local officials having little authority to help the situation, people are getting increasingly worried about the drones.
Himes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, urged viewers during an interview on Fox News Sunday to not give into conspiracy theories about the drones, saying, “We should be sober” about the situation.
Newsweek reached out to Himes’ office via email for comment late Sunday afternoon.
Heinrich, who was filling in for host Shannon Bream, suggested that the mysterious drone situation could possibly be like when the Japanese spied on the U.S. before launching a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base near Honolulu on December 7, 1941.
On that fateful day, over 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,000 more were injured. Meanwhile, almost 20 American naval vessels and more than 300 airplanes were destroyed or damaged. The U.S. subsequently declared war on Japan, bringing the country into World War II.
“So, is there no concern in your mind that this could be potentially a Pearl Harbor moment like with the Japanese submarines surveilling in the waters off Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack? Do you really have no concern this might be a state actor preparing for some kind of an event in the future?” Heinrich asked Himes.
Himes replied: “No, it’s not. Look, our adversaries that would wish us harm have billion-dollar satellites over our heads right now that are capable of doing what we do to them, which is observing.”
“You know what they’re not going to do? They’re not going to put technology over Newark, New Jersey, that could fall out of the sky, and we would capture it,” Himes said, later adding, “But no, they are not going to launch an attack on Pearl Harbor that is preceded by drones. Now does that mean that they’re not gonna use it to try to spy on our sensitive facilities, of course they might but no, this is not the predecessor for an attack on the American homeland, I can promise you that.”
Newsweek reached out to the FBI, who referred to its Thursday statement, and DHS via email for comment early Sunday evening.
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Himes Warns About Spread of Conspiracy Theories
Earlier in the interview, Himes echoed criticisms from other political figures about the federal response to the drone situation.
“There’s a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now. The answer ‘we don’t know’ is not a good enough answer. When people are anxious when they’re nervous…people will fill a vacuum with their fears and anxieties and conspiracy theories,” the congressman said. “Just putting information out there to fill that vacuum would be helpful. We haven’t seen that.”
In a letter dated Thursday to President Joe Biden requesting more federal resources to investigate the matter, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said, “The continued reporting of UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] activity has raised more questions than answers and prompted an outcropping of conspiracy theories across social media and other platforms.”
What Have Federal Officials Said About the Drones?
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room Friday evening that federal officials “have not seen anything unusual” and that they “know of no nefarious activity.”
“It is very common for individuals who think they see drones, to actually see small aircraft and we have a case of mistaken identity. Also, we have six different people reporting what they think is a drone and all of a sudden we have reports of six drone sightings. So, there’s some duplication,” Mayorkas told Blitzer.
But then on Sunday morning, Mayorkas somewhat validated people’s assertions that what they were seeing were drones.
“Some of those drone sightings are, in fact, drones. Some are manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones,” he said. “But there’s no question that drones are being sighted.”
