A US senator, backed by Donald Trump, is peddling conspiracy theories about the mysterious aircraft sightings that have plagued the East Coast over the last several weeks.
Republican Doug Masriano shared a photo on X of a supposedly crashed drone retrieved from water on Alabama’s Gulf Coast that was involved in the unexplained aerial activity.
What he failed to recognise is that it is actually a replica of a TIE Fighter from Star Wars.
‘Breaking News: Crashed drone in Orange Beach retrieved from water, and taken to undisclosed location for further investigation,’ reads an on-screen text in the post.
Unfortunately for the politician – who boasts 30 years of service in the US army – sci-fi fans were quick to point out his embarrassment.
A community note under the post reads: ‘The photo is of a prop/replica spaceship from Star Wars.’
His tweet has been viewed by almost five million people and reposted at least 4,000 times.
Mastriano wrote alongside the picture: ‘It is inconceivable that the federal government has no answers nor has taken action to get to the bottom of the unidentified drones.
‘The fecklessness of this administration was on display last year when a Chinese surveillance balloon was allowed to fly over the entire continental United States before being shot down.
‘Such should be viewed as a threat to our nation and citizens and action is long overdue.
‘We have recourses and assets in our arsenal to get answers, but I suppose Ukraine is more important to the White House. January 20 cannot come soon enough.’
There is no indication as to when or where the photo of the large replica, hauled on the back of a truck, was first shared.
It appears to originate from a now-deleted post on Facebook, in which a woman speculated whether there were aliens hiding inside.
Despite the criticism, the Pennsylvania senator has not removed his post, first shared 48 hours ago.
He tried to save face by claiming that he knew that the picture was fake.
Mastriano posted another of a person dressed up as Darth Vader being arrested by two police officers.
‘You guys. Hilarious. Looks like it was piloted after all and not the drone you were looking for,’ he wrote.
A spate of reported drone sightings that began in New Jersey in November spread in recent days to include Maryland, Massachusetts and other states.
More Trending
US officials said on Saturday that most of the sightings involved manned aircraft and that there was no evidence of a national security threat.
An FBI official told reporters that less than 100 of the over 5,000 reported sightings had turned out to merit further investigation, and all of the large fixed-wing reported sightings so far involved manned aircraft.
Metro has reached out to Mastriano’s office for a comment.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Save up to 50% off last-minute gifts at Dunelm – including scented sets and foodie items
MORE: Keskine’s Advanced IPL hair removal tool claims to show visible signs of hair reduction in one month
MORE: Tottenham should forget Squid Game stunts and try ending their 17-year trophy drought
