Man who landed gyrocopter on Capitol lawn released from jail
Posted Sep 8, 2016 06:58:50 AM.
Last Updated Sep 8, 2016 07:40:14 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RUSKIN, Fla. – A Florida man who piloted a one-person gyrocopter through some of the most restricted U.S. airspace and landed on the lawn of the Capitol in Washington has been released from jail after serving three months of a four-month sentence.
The Tampa Bay Times (http://goo.gl/aNF8Ax ) reports that Douglas Hughes returned to his Ruskin home Wednesday, his 62nd birthday, following a stay at Federal Detention Center Miami.
Hughes has said his April 15, 2015, flight in the bare-bones aircraft — which began in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania — was a way to call attention to the influence of big money in politics. He told the Times he spent his time in jail writing letters, listening to NPR and practicing speeches about campaign finance reform.
Hughes pleaded guilty last fall to operating a gyrocopter without a license.
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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.
