The drones seen flying over New Jersey were authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration, the White House said on Tuesday.
The drones were seen not only over the Garden State but over other states in November, Fox News reported.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the drones “were authorized by the FAA for research and various other reasons.”
“This was not the enemy,” Leavitt said during her first press briefing since President Donald Trump took office last week.
The statement Leavitt read was said to have been issued by Trump, the Ashbury Park Press reported.
In addition to the ones authorized by the FAA, other drones were flown by hobbyists.
Several of the sightings were investigated by the FBI, New Jersey State Police, New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness among other agencies.
The FBI said that of the nearly 5,000 tips the agency received, fewer than 100 were worth investigating while a Department of Homeland Security Official said last month that most of the drone sightings were in reality misidentified manned aircraft.
The FAA had issued temporary flight restrictions over portions of New Jersey but most have been lifted.
The drones had been seen flying over New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio, CNN reported.
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