Testimony and several reports have exposed unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings across the country amid the national attention on apparent drone observations over recent weeks.
Luiz Elizondo, the former head of the Defense Department's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, and other witnesses testified before Congress last month about an alleged government group "hid[ing] the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos."
"I believe that we as Americans can handle the truth. And I also believe the world deserves the truth," Elizondo said, urging Congress to enact legislation protecting whistleblowers too afraid to come forward.
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The hearing was part of a larger effort by lawmakers to investigate UFOs, or unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAPs), and determine whether elements within the government are unlawfully withholding evidence from Congress.
Meanwhile, UFO sightings have been reported in every U.S. state, according to the National UFO Reporting Center, the largest independently collected set of UFO/UAP sighting reports online.
A military-trained observer reported that he was camping alone in Mountain Center, California, in October when suddenly all natural outdoor-related noises went silent and the entire area "lit up brighter than the brightest full moon he’d ever seen," according to the UFO reporting site.
The man said he saw a bright, white oval light that was about 20 to 30 feet long and hovering at treetop level, adding that the light remained completely still and noiseless, emitted no heat and resembled a large helicopter.
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Several pilots also reported seeing three or four UFOs in the sky over Oregon, flying at different altitudes, just a few weeks ago, KPTV reported.
The pilots reported seeing strange, red circular lights zipping around at night, and a United Airlines pilot contacted the control tower to talk about moving lights seen over western Oregon, the outlet reported.
In April 2022, a witness said she noticed a light in the sky over a reservoir in Connecticut, believing it was potentially an unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP/UFO), according to NewsNation.
"I’m always a sky watcher, so I was wondering if it was a plane," the woman told the outlet. "But the way it was moving, there’s no way it was a plane."
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While recent sightings of drones or mysterious aircraft are not exactly UFO observations, they have, nonetheless, raised concerns and have even attracted the attention of the FBI, sparking conversation about the possibility of other unidentified flying objects in the sky.
"The FBI Newark, NJ State Police, and NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness are asking for the public to report any information related to the recent sightings of possible drones flying in several areas along the Raritan River," a Dec. 3 FBI statement noted.
Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary flight restrictions, which expire Jan. 17, 2025, prohibiting drone flights over parts of New Jersey after the influx of sightings, excluding drone operations in support of national defense, homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, search and rescue or disaster response missions.
However, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby recently told Fox News the mysterious drones flying over the country are in fact "legal" and "lawful."
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The White House, in coordination with the FBI and state and local officials, examined roughly 5,000 sightings, and their analysis concludes that "lawful, legal, commercial hobbyist and even law enforcement aircraft activity" is responsible for the sightings, Kirby said about the assessment.
In a recent statement by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense, the agencies said that while they "recognize the concern," there is no evidence that the drones are "anomalous" or a threat to national security or public safety.
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
