Police in Washington, DC report that they have detained a man who flew a personal aircraft known as a gyrocopter through restricted airspace, landing the one-man flyer on the Capitol's West Lawn.
Authorities blocked off nearby streets, and the Capitol was briefly on lockdown. Police arrived shortly after pilot Doug Hughes, 61, landed.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that Mr. Hughes is a US postal worker who planned the stunt as a statement against government corruption. He planned to deliver 535 letters for Congress strapped to the landing gear of the gyrocopter, and wanted to urge lawmakers to take steps toward campaign finance reform.
"No sane person would do what I am doing," he says in this Tampa Bay Times video. "I'm not suicidal. I'm not going to commit suicide, and I'm not going to fly into any monuments."
Okay.
— Ben Montgomery (@gangrey) April 15, 2015
