Florida man detained after landing gyrocopter on Capitol lawn

Florida man detained after landing gyrocopter on Capitol lawn
(Image credit: Twitter.com/Jamie Dupree)

A Florida man attempting to deliver a message to Congress about corruption was detained on Wednesday after landing his small gyrocopter on the Capitol lawn. The incident prompted a brief lockdown of the area while police investigated the craft and apprehended the pilot, identified as a 61-year-old mailman named Doug Hughes.

Though the landing surprised police and reporters, it was not entirely a secret. In a pre-flight interview with The Tampa Bay Times, Hughes said he planned to fly to D.C. with 535 letters — one for each member of Congress — "demanding reform and declaring a voter's rebellion in a manner consistent with Jefferson's description of rights in the Declaration of Independence."

"No sane person," he told the Times, "would do what I'm doing."

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.