The White House said on Monday that there is “no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity” in connection to a series of unidentified objects the U.S. shot down from North American airspace but the Pentagon still doesn't know who is responsible.
"I don't think the American people need to worry about aliens with respect to these crafts. Period," White House spokesman John Kirby said at a press briefing.
Kirby said the U.S. hasn’t determined the origins of the objects that were shot down over Alaska, Canada and Lake Huron one week after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon in the Atlantic Ocean. The Pentagon has also not identified the purpose of the three objects including whether they were conducting surveillance.
Gen. Glen VanHerck, who oversees North American airspace for the U.S. Air Force, raised eyebrows on Sunday when he said, "I haven't ruled anything out" when asked about aliens or extraterrestrials regarding the unidentified objects. "I'll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out," VanHerck said.
But White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre opened Monday's press briefing by trying to put the alien theory to rest, even as many questions remain.
"I know there have been questions and concerns about this, but there is no – again, no – indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns," Jean-Pierre said, drawing a few chuckles from reporters. "I wanted to make sure the American people knew that."
Kirby said the objects were unmanned, appeared to be moving by prevailing winds, not self-propulsion, and had no communications signals. Two of the objects were flying at 40,000 feet or lower, while a third object flew about 20,000 feet over Lake Huron. Each were at significantly lower elevations than the Chinese spy balloon and posed a threat to aircraft, Kirby said.
Complicating the search for more clues, the U.S. has not made it to the debris sites of the objects, which fell in remote areas and, in two cases, frozen waters.
