In the face of mysterious drone sightings across New Jersey, Belleville Mayor Michael Melham has taken decisive action to ensure public safety.
Since late November, residents from various counties in New Jersey have observed unusually large drones hovering at night, prompting a significant local government response, The Western Journal reported.
Mysterious drones first appeared in the skies of New Jersey just before Thanksgiving, stirring not only curiosity but also concern among citizens. Multiple counties have reported these sightings, which seem primarily to take place at night.
In response to these unsettling events, Mayor Michael Melham appeared on Fox News' "The Faulkner Focus" to discuss the protective measures his administration is implementing. He shared that the state recently provided new protocols on how to deal with potentially downed drones.
According to Melham, the guidance mandates immediate action. "We now have guidance coming from the state, and the guidance does say two different things," Melham explained on the broadcast. "First of all, if there is a downed drone in our vicinity, we are immediately to call the bomb squad of our county.”
The guidelines from the state extend beyond merely reporting fallen drones. Melham's revelation of additional precautionary steps indicates a broader concern for public safety. “And second, our fire department has been instructed to make sure they wear hazmat suits,” he stated during the interview.
This decision stems from uncertainties surrounding the drones' payloads. "That is correct because they aren't quite sure if there's a payload or not, and that’s what we were told during our briefing on Wednesday," said Melham.
Mayor Melham was one of approximately 200 mayors who learned of these safety protocols during an "unprecedented briefing" earlier that week. His firsthand experience with these drones only underpins the significance of the state's directives.
Melham also voiced frustration regarding the federal government's dismissal of the consequences of these drone sightings. Concerned for his community, Melham relayed the discomfort of his constituents: "We're being told that people in New Jersey must be crazy, that they're only seeing small aircraft, and that's just not the case," he said.
"If you're on the ground in New Jersey, my residents are concerned, and they're quite alarmed because they have no idea what's hovering over their houses," Melham expressed, indicating a significant gap in communication and understanding between federal authorities and local experiences.
The mysteries extend beyond just the appearance of these drones. Melham marked their presence over crucial infrastructure as intriguing yet puzzling given the lack of actionable threats determined by authorities. "These drones are hovering over our critical infrastructure. Now, that's interesting because they're not doing any harm, they're just hovering over them. We're also told that there's no credible threat," he mentioned.
This has prompted theories about their origin and purpose. "When you start putting things together that they're telling us: Critical infrastructure, no credible threat, they're unwilling to shoot them down, they're unwilling to do a temporary ban -- and we can see them, that they have lights on them, so, something's not adding up here," Melham argued.
During the same interview, Melham speculated on these drones' possible ties to the government, suggesting they might be used as countermeasures by higher authorities. "It sounds like it might very well be our highest level of government. It might be government assets that are being deployed as a countermeasure," he concluded.
The developments in Belleville and the broader New Jersey area represent a complex interaction between local observations and state-wide measures to mitigate potential risks. Local communities have escalated these drone sightings from a concern to a matter of state-level security protocols involving multiple branches of emergency services.
As Mayor Melham and other state officials continue to monitor the situation, the state’s guidance and the actions of local governments set a precedent for how small and large communities respond to unidentified aerial phenomena and the potential threats they may carry.
