- READ MORE: Interactive map reveals locations of drones in New Jersey
Tucker Carlson has made a shocking claim about the mysterious drones that plagued New Jersey for over a month, saying they were controlled by Chinese mothership satellite.
The first sightings appeared over the Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway and President-elect Donald Trump's golf course in Bedminster in November, followed by thousands more in the skies.
While the US government was quick to dismiss claims they were foreign adversaries, Carlson claimed he was told otherwise.
He said 'an intel person' told him that the drones 'were in fact Chinese,' explaining the US government took down a Chinese satellite 'that was a command and control satellite for these drones.'
Carlson appeared to be hinting at a Beijing-operated satellite known as GaoJing 1-02 which fell from space on December 21.
Astronomers tracking such devices confirmed the Chinese satellite re-entered Earth's atmosphere above New Orleans and headed north towards Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri before burning up in the atmosphere.
But Carlson claimed it was 'taken down by the US government.'
He made the claims while speaking with independent journalist Michael Shellenberger, who heard a similar explanation for the drones.
Tucker Carlson discussed the mysterious drones on his show this week, saying he was told the objects were controlled by China
The White House repeatedly stated that the drone sightings - which coincidentally began on November 18 - are not a foreign adversary, pose no threat and are not part of a US military operation
'Somebody told me that that the military got one of the orbs, opened it up and it was Chinese,' Shellenberger said.
The GaoJing 1-02 was a commercial satellite used for mapping parts of the Earth that launched at the end of 2016.
It was said to have been decommissioned in early 2023 and floating around in space before burning up in the atmosphere in December.
However, the European Space Agency, which keeps track of all commercial satellites in the sky, showed GaoJing 1-02's mission status as 'Operational' as recently as June 2024, which raises questions about whether it had truly been deactivated.
Shellenberger told Carlson that he 'interviewed a bunch of people' in New Jersey when drones were filling the skies.
Around that time he heard John Kirby, the Defense Department spokesperson, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas say 'We're definitely not getting any drones over the military bases or other sensitive sites.'
'I was like, "Why would you lie about that,"' Shellenberger told Carlson.
The first drone spotted in New Jersey was over Picatinny Arsenal and on December 13, Naval Weapons Station Earle in Monmouth County reported seeing similar aerial vehicles.
Carlson did not provide details about the object, the Beijing-operated GaoJing 1-02 satellite fell from space (pictured) on December 21. It reentered Earth's atmosphere above New Orleans and headed north towards Mississippi , Arkansas and Missouri
Carlson made the claims while speaking with independent journalist Michael Shellenberger (picture), who heard a similar explanation for the drones
There were drones also spotted in December over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, Ohio's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas
The White House repeatedly stated that the drone sightings - which coincidentally began on November 18 - are not a foreign adversary, pose no threat and are not part of a US military operation.
But Carlson said his inside source told him that 'the belief was the Chinese government was sending the following message, 'We're moving on Taiwan.''
Shellenberger said that if the orb was Chinese then 'somebody has mastered anti-gravity.'
'That's almost harder for me to believe than that it's non-human intelligence [NHI],' he added.
Anti-gravity technology refers to the idea of creating a force that counteracts gravity, allowing objects to float or move without being pulled down by Earth's gravitational pull, and it has become the holy grail for militaries worldwide.
While the idea does not seem possible to Shellenberger, he told Joe Rogan in October that the US military has mastered 'alien' anti-gravity technology.
Shellenberger told Rogan that he spoke to insiders with 'direct evidence' about the Pentagon's long-rumored UFO 'crash retrieval' and 'reverse engineering' programs.
The Biden administration has brushed away any speculation of threats, but even lawmakers suggested the federal government was lying to the American people.
A Harvard scientist posted online that the Chinese satellite was shut off in 2023, but the European Space Agency's website shows it was in operation as of June 2024
Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in mid-December that he believes some of the unidentified aircraft are 'spy drones' from China after it was revealed that the communist state had been snapping up strategically placed farmland next to military installations across the US.
'I believe they're spy drones and the [People's Republic of China] and communist China is very good at this stuff. We know they bought land around military bases. This would be very consistent with their policy over the past couple of years,' he said.
'We're not getting answers and I think it's because our government does not know who is behind them and that is very disturbing to me.'
President-elect Donald Trump said last week that he would reveal the truth about the drones over New Jersey.
'I'm going to give you a report on drones about one day into the administration because I think it's ridiculous that they're not telling you about what's going on with the drones,' Trump replied.
He went on to predict that it 'could be [the U.S.]' that's sending the drones, which he 'hopes is the cause' and 'not an enemy.'
