Witnesses said the craft approached the Capitol from the west, flying low over the National Mall and the Capitol reflecting pool across the street from the building. The White House said President Barack Obama had been briefed on the situation. “Had it gotten any closer to the speaker’s balcony they have long guns to take it down, but it didn’t. House Homeland Security panel Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said the pilot landed on his own, but that had he made it much closer to the Capitol authorities were prepared to shoot him down. Postal Service logo and landed about half a city block from the Capitol building, as a “gyro copter with a single occupant.” There’s no need to worry - I’m just delivering the mail.”Ĭapitol Police identified the aircraft, which sported the U.S. “An ultralight aircraft poses no major physical threat - it may present a political threat to graft. “As I have informed the authorities, I have no violent inclinations or intent,” Hughes wrote on his website,. ![]() Capitol Wednesday, surprising spring tourists and prompting a temporary lockdown of the Capitol Visitor Center.Ĭapitol Police didn’t immediately identify the pilot or comment on his motive, but a Florida postal carrier named Doug Hughes took responsibility for the stunt on a website where he said he was delivering letters to all 535 members of Congress in order to draw attention to campaign finance corruption. WASHINGTON > Police arrested a man who steered his tiny, one-person helicopter onto the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Police didn’t immediately identify the pilot or comment on his motive, but a Florida postal carrier named Doug Hughes took responsibility for the stunt on a website where he said he was delivering letters to all 535 members of Congress in order to draw attention to campaign finance corruption. Capitol Wednesday, astonishing spring tourists and prompting a temporary lockdown of the Capitol Visitor Center. Police arrested a man who steered his tiny, one-person helicopter onto the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.Facebook Twitter Email A member of a bomb squad pulls something off of a small helicopter and throws it after a man landed on the West Lawn of the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 15, 2015. The National Guard continues to guard the barricade where the crime scene is located.įriday's incident comes less than three months after the deadly insurrection at the U.S.
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