Pilot who landed gyrocopter on Capitol lawn charged, released after court appearance

The Florida man accused of piloting and landing a gyrocopter on the Capitol lawn was charged and released after he appeared in court on Thursday.

CNN noted that the pilot, identified as 61-year-old Douglas Mark Hughes, made his first court appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia around 1:30 p.m. He was charged with violating registration requirements involving an aircraft and a violation of national defense airspace before he was released.

As previously reported, Hughes is the sole occupant who was arrested Wednesday after he landed the small aircraft on the West Lawn of the Capitol building.

Officials said that he touched down on his own, but if he had gotten any closer to the building, agents were prepared to shoot him down.

Hughes is a mailman from Ruskin and his civilian landing in a restricted airspace has raised many security questions and concerns.

"I am deeply concerned that someone has the ability to fly for over an hour through the most restricted airspace in our country, past the White House, and land on the lawn of the Capitol," said Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman, Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

Some media outlets have said that Hughes’ plan to fly to Washington D.C. was documented and known by the Secret Service Tampa Field Office. A spokesman for the Secret Service, however, said those claims were untrue.

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