Kristi Noem Abruptly Ends Presser After Being Pressed on Laser Strike on Party Balloons [View all]

Source: Mediaite

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem abruptly ended a Friday news conference on election security after she was questioned about the Tuesday late-night closure of El Paso’s airspace and whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection “actually hit a party balloon that it thought was a drone with a laser.”

“Can you confirm that CBP actually hit a party balloon that it thought was a drone with a laser earlier this week?” questioned a reporter. “If that is true, why wasn’t the action coordinated with the FAA?”

According to a report published Wednesday by NBC News, the temporary shutdown of El Paso’s airspace came after “U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials used an anti-drone laser that was provided by the military to shoot down objects that were later identified as party balloons… without coordinating with officials from the Federal Aviation Administration.”

The “temporary flight restriction notice,” which hasn’t been employed since the Sept. 11 attacks, would have closed the airspace for ten days, preventing “flights, including helicopters used for medical transport, below 18,000 feet.”

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/kristi-noem-abruptly-ends-presser-204344719.html