Pilot Arrested, Capitol Briefly On Lockdown

This is not a good idea for anyone who ever wants to fly again. A 61-year-old pilot landed his gyrocopter on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, sending capitol police scrambling and putting the building on lockdown for a brief time.

The pilot is Doug Hughes, said to be a mailman from Ruskin, FL. He reportedly towed the gyrocopter from Florida to a location near Washington, D.C. where he commenced his flight. Hughes  said his actions were a protest to urge campaign finance reform. It also pointed to some apparent gaps in security around the building.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that witnesses said they could hear the aircraft approaching the Capitol. Gil Wheeler, a pilot from Las Vegas, said that Hughes obviously knew how to fly the aircraft.

Hughes was immediately arrested.

Hughes was not secretive about his plans. He build a website to explain what he was doing, and why. He also reportedly wrote 535 letters, one to each member of congress, and planned to deliver them using the aircraft. Hughes reportedly surrendered as soon as he landed.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Hughes was visited one day last spring in the very early hours of the morning by a Secret Service agent and a Hillsborough, FL County Sheriff. He was questioned, but not arrested. The Secret Service would not confirm the visit because there was no arrest, but they were reportedly told that Hughes planned an act of civil disobedience that is also a federal crime.

Photos posted by the paper show Hughes' aircraft as a single-seat open gyrocopter with a U.S. Mail emblem on the rudder.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.uscapitolpolice.gov