States demand power to stop drones delivering drugs, weapons into prisons
FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of more than 20 state attorneys general is urging the Trump administration to expand state authority to combat drones, warning that current federal limits and...
By Fox News · Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of more than 20 state attorneys general is urging the Trump administration to expand state authority to combat drones, warning that current federal limits and legal uncertainty are allowing contraband to be flown into prisons with little ability for local officials to stop it. " We have a situation where drones are being used to drop drugs, cellphones, weapons, razors, knives, whatever it may be behind the wire in a prison," Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr told Fox News Digital. "It's causing all kinds of problems." In a Friday letter to the White House’s Task Force to Restore American Airspace Sovereignty, Carr led a group of more than 20 state attorneys general from across the country asking for "carefully defined authority" for states to detect, monitor and mitigate unauthorized drones, including stopping them before contraband is delivered. Airspace in the United States traditionally has been controlled by the federal government, leaving state and local officials with limited authority to respond to drones involved in illicit activity. UNAUTHORIZED DRONES DETECTED OVER U.S. AIR FORCE BASE HOUSING NUCLEAR-CAPABLE B-52 BOMBERS: MILITARY The task force was created by President Donald Trump to review drone threats and recommend changes to U.S. airspace policy. In recent years, however, states and law enforcement groups have increasingly pushed for expanded authority, arguing that federal restrictions have left them able to detect drone threats but not stop them in real time. Congress has started to respond, including through provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act that would allow trained state and local agencies to take limited counter-drone actions in certain circumstances, such as near prisons and critical infrastructure. But those authorities remain restricted, and many state officials say they do not go far enough. US MILITARY SHOT DOWN PARTY BALLOON NEAR EL PASO AFTER SUSPECTING DRONE, OFFICIAL SAYS Carr said the lim…