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Multiple sightings of aerial objects after sunset have sparked concern on the U.S. East Coast and sparked widespread anger that the federal government is not taking the problem seriously.

Authorities in New Jersey have been inundated since last month with reports of drones, sometimes in groups and with no apparent purpose, littering the night sky over the country’s most densely populated state.

Officials tried to reassure the public but offered no explanation for the phenomenon.

“We currently have no evidence that the reported drone sightings pose a threat to national or public safety or have any foreign connection,” the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said this week.

The assurances do little to allay fears about the flying machines, whose owners and home base remain a mystery.

“Frankly, it is quite disturbing when our officers expect us not to know what is going on. “We could launch a missile 5,000 miles away, but we can’t determine where these drones are coming from,” said James Dodd, mayor of the city of Dover, New Jersey.

Dover is near Picatinny Arsenal, a US military installation. The Federal Aviation Administration last month imposed temporary flight restrictions on unmanned flights over the site, citing “special safety reasons.” Similar restrictions were imposed this month in the area around President-elect Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

No such restrictions have been imposed elsewhere in the state, although drone sightings continue.

Dodd was among New Jersey mayors invited to a New Jersey State Police briefing this week. He said he was frustrated by what he considered to be scant information on a serious issue.

He posted on his city’s website a question-and-answer document he received from the Department of Homeland Security. “It is currently unclear who is operating the drones,” the document states.

Drone reports are spreading along the East Coast. Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, wrote on social media that he observed “what looked like dozens of large drones in the sky” over his home for about 45 minutes on Thursday evening.

“Like many who have observed these drones, I do not know whether this increasing activity over our skies poses a threat to public safety or national security. “But the public is increasingly concerned and frustrated by the federal government’s complete lack of transparency and dismissive attitude,” Hogan wrote. He posted a video of what he described as a plane.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday that the state is working with federal authorities to investigate drone sightings in her state.

Federal regulations place few restrictions on civilian drone use, according to Mary-Lou Smulders, chief marketing officer of Dedrone, a company that helps public safety agencies detect drones. Violations include flying too close to airports and sensitive locations such as nuclear power plants and flying at an altitude of more than 400 feet.

Even then, the rules are often ignored. Dedrone’s sensors have registered more than 1.1 million violations so far this year.

State and local police do not have the authority to intercept drones, Smulders said. These powers are only granted to four federal ministries under certain circumstances, making it difficult to take action against violations.

Federal authorities said they had uncovered no malicious activity related to the New Jersey flights. “It’s probably some people who find it funny that they’re able to create this freak-out,” Smulders speculated. “What . . . What would be the point of flying around at night? Not much.”

The FBI doubted that most of the observations even involved drones. “To the contrary, upon reviewing the available images, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft operating lawfully,” the statement to the Department of Homeland Security said.

Located between New York City and Philadelphia, New Jersey has some of the busiest airspace in North America.

The unresolved concerns have led to increasingly urgent calls for action. This week, Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey suggested the flights would launch from an “Iranian drone mothership” in the Atlantic.

Trump spoke out on Friday, posting on his social media platform that the government should be more forthcoming or shoot down the plane.

U.S. officials said they do not believe the drone activity is linked to foreign actors or adversaries. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Wednesday that no Iranian ships had launched drones toward the United States.

Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington