Doug Hughes leaves court Thursday wearing his postal jacket. (WJLA)
Capitol gyrocopter pilot released on own recognizance after court hearing, home detention
WASHINGTON (WJLA/ABC News/AP) -A Florida postal worker who managed to land a small helicopter on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol – without being detected ahead of time – was released by a federal judge on his own recognizance Thursday afternoon.
61-year-old Doug Hughes was arrested immediately after landing his gyrocopter. He had flown right through the no-fly zone around Washington, penetrating the missile systems, radar and anti-aircraft weapons. He apparently had been planning this flight for a year and a half – and first told his plans to the Tampa Bay Times newspaper.
Hughes was ordered released when he appeared before Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson in D.C. federal court on charges of one count of knowingly operating an aircraft not properly registered, and one count of violating national air defense space. In total, he faces four years in prison plus fines, if convicted. more
Mailman worried home detention will prevent him from working
A condition of his release was that he be monitored via GPS, but Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson ordered that he will be placed on home detention in Tampa.
Hughes asked at court how he would be able to work if he is confined to his house, but it was not immediately clear if there was a resolution to his question.
Before the stunt, Hughes said flying into the restricted airspace was a protest of campaign finance laws. Hughes, a postal worker, was arrested and taken into custody Wednesday on Capitol grounds after landing the small, lightweight device on the West Lawn. Hughes, who announced his plan on his website, said he had no intention of hurting anyone and nothing dangerous was found in the aircraft. more
you can just see hillary and bill clinton with their 200 million laughing……..you can see sen diane feinstein and hubby blum high fiving over raking in over a cool billion with their no bid postal contract to sell off postal buildings…………….another rube takes it in the a@@!
What the heck does your Rethuglican blabber have to do with this story? Keep on task…You can do it…Turn off the FAUX NEWS.
I’d rather see him wearing the USPS logo than Lance Armstrong.
I’d rather see him wearing in the USPS logo than Lance Armstrong.
@ Forest Gump. Yes I understand his urgency. Oligarchy is a form of power structure which effectively rest with a small number of people, often being tyrannical through public obedience and / or oppression. Synonymous with “rich” folk. Oligarchy and democracy operate within a single system. Think Hunger games trilogy a form of Oligarchy. Those who speak out against it are ostracized. We do need to wake up.
14 day suspension for deviating!
I’m amazed. I’m the only one that made a statement as to why this guy did it. Is there anybody out there that understands what this was about? Does anybody know what an oligarchy is and why this makes it closer to being a reality?
When it happens the cry babies will cry because they don’t take the time to find out.
Anybody ever read Animal Farm? The pigs are changing the rules and the people are to stupid to even see it.
STUPID IS AS STUPID DOESN’T DO
“The guy is goofy, but the point is that the super rich can now buy a representative. So they have more ability to run the country than they did before.”
Not sure why he is worried about home detention when he will not have a job anyway.
The problem is that the number of individuals in a representative districts is too many for the average Joe to run a campaign. Money money money! The constitution says 30000 for each us representative. If that was held today, we would have 10500 representatives in us congress.
The guy is goofy, but the point is that the super rich can now buy a representative. So they have more ability to run the country than they did before.
He will not have to worry about going back to work. He will be fired for bringing negative attention to the Postal Service. Only the Postal Service can make fools of themselves.