Gyrocopter pilot to plead guilty to felony charges — but will he get 'hard time?'
US News
Gyrocopter pilot to plead guilty to felony charges — but will he get ‘hard time?’
Douglas Hughes has said repeatedly in recent months that he objected to doing “significant hard jail time” for landing a gyrocopter outside the U.S. Capitol, protesting that no one got hurt in his “spectacular” act of civil disobedience on April 15. Although prosecutors prosecutors have charged him with crimes that carry a potential of 9½ years in prison, on Thursday, his lawyer said that Hughes has agreed to plead guilty to operating a gyrocopter without a license, a felony and a charge that carries a potential of three years in prison. The plea would be entered in federal court on Nov. 20.
Doug Hughes will continue to be a strong voice for campaign finance reform…
Attorney Mark Goldstone
Claiming to call attention to what he considers the influence of big money on politics, Hughes was arrested after flying the bare-bones aircraft from Gettysburg, Pa., to Washington. The tail section of Hughes’ gyrocopter carried a Postal Service logo, and Hughes, who is from Ruskin, Florida, was carrying letters for each member of Congress. Hughes was a mailman at the time of his flight.
