Marco Rubio says he's heard from 'public figures' with 'firsthand knowledge' about UFOs

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) says he has privately heard from "public figures" who have "firsthand knowledge" about UFOs, but many of those individuals are fearful about the consequences if they make their claims public.

Rubio told NewsNation this week that he has spoken to people who have "firsthand knowledge, firsthand claims of certain things" involving UFOs. 

"Some are public figures," Rubio said. "I am trying to be protective of these people. Some of these people still work in the government, and frankly, a lot of them are fearful – fearful of their jobs, fearful of their clearances, fearful of their careers, and some quite frankly are fearful of harm coming to them."

His comments come after former U.S. intelligence official David Grusch told Congress that the government has intact crafts of non-human origin. 

When asked whether he found people who were making the UFO claims credible, Rubio said that he could not tell whether they were or not because it is  "beyond sort of the realm of what any of us have ever dealt with."

He added: "I will say, I find most of these people at some point or maybe even currently have held very high clearances and high positions within our government ... so you do ask yourself like, 'What incentive would so many people with that kind of qualification .... have to come forward and make something up?'"

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.