Small aircraft lands on US Capitol lawn; pilot in custody
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Police arrested a man who steered his tiny aircraft onto the lawn of the US Capitol, which houses Congress, after flying through restricted airspace around the National Mall Wednesday.
The pilot was Doug Hughes, 61, a Postal Service worker from Florida, according to a person who was briefed by Capitol Police and revealed the information on condition of anonymity. On his website, Hughes took responsibility for the stunt and said he was delivering letters to all 535 members of Congress to draw attention to campaign finance corruption.
"As I have informed the authorities, I have no violent inclinations or intent," Hughes wrote on his website, thedemocracyclub.org. "An ultralight aircraft poses no major physical threat - it may present a political threat to graft. I hope so. There's no need to worry - I'm just delivering the mail."
A second source, a Senate aide, said Capitol Police knew of the plan shortly before Hughes took off, and said he had previously been interviewed by the US Secret Service. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the investigation. Capitol Police declined to publicly confirm the man's identity.
