Doug Hughes, the Florida mail carrier who landed his gyrocopter at the U.S. Capitol last month, pleaded not guilty in federal court Thursday to six felony and misdemeanor charges including illegally flying an aircraft and breaching Washington, D.C., restricted airspace. A grand jury indicted Hughes on the charges stemming from his April 15 flight, which he had openly planned as a protest of government corruption, The Associated Press reported. After his arrest outside the Capitol, he was placed under house arrest and has been banned from operating any aircraft.
Hughes faces two felonies: operating as an airman without an airman’s certificate and violating aircraft registration rules, the AP reported. The felony charges could mean up to three years in prison. He also was charged with three misdemeanors for entering national defense airspace, each carrying a maximum of one year in prison, and another misdemeanor charge for putting a U.S. Postal Service logo on his gyrocopter, which could mean up to six months in prison, the AP reported. Hughes had carried with him on his flight individual letters addressed to members of Congress.
