A Florida postal worker, who successfully landed a gyrocopter on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol building last month, has been indicted by a federal grand jury.
Reuters noted that the U.S. Justice Department said 61-year-old Douglas Mark Hughes was indicted Wednesday on six charges and faces a prison sentence of 9-1/2 years.
Two of the charges are felonies and four are misdemeanors. If he is convicted on the felonies, he will have to forfeit his gyrocopter to the federal government.
As previously reported, on April 15, Hughes piloted the small copter and landed on the West Lawn of the Capitol building. Upon landing he arrested and charged with violating registration requirements involving an aircraft and a violation of national defense airspace before he was released.
"An investigation determined that he does not have a pilot's certificate or registration for the aircraft," the DOJ said in a statement. "The gyrocopter was privately owned by Hughes, but had the logo and emblem of the United States Postal Service without authorization."
Hughes said he flew and landed the aircraft to make a political statement.
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