Florida gyrocopter pilot who landed on Capitol Hill gets to drive home to await next hearing

Published December 20, 2015

A mail carrier is driving back to Florida to await his next hearing for flying his gyrocopter onto the U.S. Capitol lawn.

Doug Hughes was charged with operating an unregistered aircraft and violating national airspace after landing his gyrocopter near Congress on Wednesday.

The 61-year-old told the Tampa Bay Times on Friday (http://bit.ly/1OqykKZ ) that he was driving back to his Tampa Bay-area home. Hughes said he needs to arrive in Ruskin before Monday, when his house arrest begins.

He will wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet until a May 8 court hearing in Washington, D.C.

Hughes flew his gyrocopter onto the Capitol lawn to call attention to his belief that campaign finance laws are too week. His wife told The Associated Press on Friday that Hughes was a patriot.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-gyrocopter-pilot-who-landed-on-capitol-hill-gets-to-drive-home-to-await-next-hearing