By M. Alex Johnson
Police arrested the pilot of a gyro-copter that landed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday — apparently with a message to Congress to clean up money in politics.
In an email delivered to Florida news organizations, including NBC station WFLA of Tampa, Doug Hughes, 61, a mailman from Ruskin, Florida, said he had been planning the Tax Day event for a long time as a vivid way to deliver his message on campaign finance reform. Police didn't confirm the pilot's identity, but Hughes has talked about the stunt for months on a website and to a Florida newspaper, which he tipped off in advance.
In the email, Hughes said he intended to deliver 535 letters to Washington, D.C. — one for each member of Congress.
PICTURES: Gyrocopter Lands on Capitol Lawn in Tax Day Stunt
"I'm the pilot," Hughes wrote in the email.
"What's unique and newsworthy is the delivery. I'm going to land my gyro on the front lawn of the Capitol Building at the top end of the National Mall," Hughes said. "The issue is important enough to defy the no-fly zone and risk life and limb, and my freedom in pursuit of an honest government that represents the people."
A small helicopter lands on the West Lawn of the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.
John Jewell, 72, a tourist from Statesville, North Carolina, told NBC Washington that the craft landed hard and bounced. An officer was already there with a gun drawn.
"He didn't get out until police officers told him to get out. He had his hands up" and was quickly led away by the police, Jewell said. "They snatched him pretty fast."
The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot hadn't notified it of his plans to enter restricted airspace. It said violators face both civil and criminal penalties.
Ben Montgomery, a reporter for The Tampa Bay Times, told NBC News that Hughes first contacted the newspaper about his plans around a year ago, but he didn't give a window of possible flying dates until last month.
"For about 2½ years, he's [been] planning this wild, insane act of civil disobedience to bring attention to something very mundane — campaign finance reform," said Montgomery, who interviewed Hughes.
Montgomery said the Secret Service visited Hughes' home last year and interviewed him about his plans. The newspaper reported that Hughes answered truthfully, telling the agents that he owned a gyro-copter and talked about doing "something big" to bring attention to campaign finance reform.
Hughes took off from somewhere in or near rural Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 65 miles north of Washington, Montgomery said.
"Honestly, until he took off, until he made it to the Washington Monument, we didn't know if he was going to go through with it," Montgomery said. "That was his biggest fear all along — that he was going to walk away and not be able to do anything and look back 20 years from now and think, 'I had a chance to make a statement about campaign finance reform, and I blew it.'"
The 800-word message protests corruption in government, quoting John Kerry, now the secretary of state, as saying in his farewell speech to the Senate: "The unending chase for money, I believe, threatens to steal our democracy itself." Kerry made the remark on the Senate floor on Jan. 30, 2013.
"As a voter, I'm a member of the only political body with authority over Congress," the letter says. "I'm demanding reform and declaring a voter's rebellion in a manner consistent with Jefferson's description of rights in the Declaration of Independence."
It cites corporations that pay no or few taxes, the so-called revolving door of lawmakers who retire to become lobbyists, lawmakers' focus on raising money for re-election and what it calls disproportional influence of the wealthy in crafting the nation's laws.
The letter links to a website for a group called The Democracy Club, which promotes the same ideas. While Hughes' name doesn't appear in the site, the site's domain is registered in his name and address. Many of the posts are signed "Tampadoug47," and the email address listed to contact the owner is the same address used in the letter sent to WFLA under Hughes' name.
Federal bankruptcy records show that Hughes declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011, with an agency of the federal government, USDA Rural Development, which makes loans to promote businesses in rural areas, as the primary creditor. Hughes' attorney in the case didn't immediately return a call for comment.
Hughes' website repeats many of the points made in the email to Florida news organizations, decrying the corrupting influence of money on politics and the government. And one post gives authorities notice of his plan to conduct a "live flight" in Washington. It is dated Sept. 16, 2013, more than a year and a half ago, but it appears to have been updated recently.
In a biography on the site, "Tampadoug47" describes himself as a postal carrier in Florida. He says he is married with four children and grew up in Santa Cruz, California, before joining the Navy.
"Let's keep the discussion focused on reform — not me — I'm just delivering the mail," it says.
First published April 15 2015, 10:54 AM
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