Is It Legal To Shoot Down Drones In Illinois Or Iowa?

Skeet shooters are ready to go.

By now, we've all seen the news about the mysterious drones lurking over the East Coast. Most recently, the FAA, Department of Defense, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security reported them as "hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones".

But if the drones are flying over private property, it's invasive and problematic.

Several people have asked if you can legally shoot down a drone if it's hovering around your property. After all, it's your house and you didn't ask for it to show up, right?

Illinois Law

Regulating drones falls into the state's responsibility in Illinois, provided it aligns with federal law. And federal law is not fine with you shooting down a creepy drone.

There's also an Illinois Statute against reckless discharge of a firearm. It doesn't mention drones specifically but if you were to miss the drone and shoot a person, you could get into trouble.

Iowa Law

Iowa hasn't had any reports lately of creepy drones, according to the Iowa State Patrol, but the state did pass a law that prohibits drones from flying over private properties without the owner's consent. But as far as taking them down goes, you can't shoot them down either.

Federally, It's illegal to shoot down a drone because the FAA considers drones an aircraft.

The Aircraft Sabotage Act makes damaging or destroying an aircraft a federal offense and that could include shooting down drones, since drones are registered through the FAA.

Drones give me the same ick that wasps do, they just kind of hover and creep nearby. But instead of shooting the drone down, you're asked to reach out to local law enforcement if you think a drone is spying on you.