i don't know where that investigation went. >> now, doug hughes is due back in a d.c. courtroom on may 8th. >>> today, friends and family will remember a security guard shot and kill at the census building. the funeral will be held today. buckner was shot last week in maryland. the man who shot him, ronald anderson, led police on a chase that ended in the district. >>> today nine people are facing charges accused of robbing the same drugstore twice. the robberies happened on sunday and monday in southwest d.c. the oldest suspect, 38. the youngest 18. police say the group stole drugs not cash. officers recovered drugs and three semiautomatic handguns on wednesday. >>> if you own a home in arlington up county, the board won't raise property taxes this year but the overall taxes can go up. assessment increases and a water sewer rate increase will raise property taxes for the average homeowner by $300 a year. the fiscal year 2016 budget also includes an added $6 million for public schools. overall, the budget cuts $2.6 million. >>> the district needs more firefighters. whe

authorities ided pilot as doug hughes. the the 61 year-old ace he flew to the capitol to deliver letters to congress demanding campaign finance reform. his plan was chronicled by the the tampa bay times for several months. >> i'm going to land on the capitol lawn, in front of the capitol building i am going to have 535 letters, strapped to the landing gear. >> hughes reportedly told police he took off from an airfield around gettysburg pennsylvania. we will have much more coming up in a live report from washington d.c. in the knelt half an hour. >>> with the pope's visit and democratic national convention coming to philadelphia, authorities are testing their readiness in case of the potential threat. philadelphia police, u.s. park rangers and paramedics took over independent visitors center for a test drill. during the staged drill they moved in targeting a gunman on the loose in the building. more than hundred officers participated using fake bullets. >> the city of philadelphia will be in the world's spotlight and that i

>> reporter: jim, doreen we learned that doug hughes was so passionate about this issue and so public about this plan that he had, secret service agents came to his house in florida and interviewed him extensively a year and a half ago. it's still a shocking sight. a man flying low over the national mall, headed straight for the u.s. capitol. >> this is not video shows doug hughes had been hatching this plot since 2013. >> i have carefully planned it so that nobody >> reporter: he practiced flying the gyrocopter. >> i'm not suicidal. and i'm not going to commit suicide. and i'm not going to fly into any monuments. >> reporter: and he understood the risks. >> no sane person would do what i'm doing. >> reporter: but hughes trusted the same federal government he was protesting would save him. >> i don't believe that the authorities are going to shoot down a 60-year-old mailman in a flying bicycle. >> reporter: on friday hughes loaded it on to a trailer in florida and started towing it to pennsylvania the next day. the minute he hit the front lawn of the capitol, police were waiting. >> m

capitol, doug hughes on bo what's called a gyro-cop >> everyone was shouting, "move, get down, move!" >> reporter: the 61-year-old mailman from ruskin, florida was looking to deliver a message to washington, demanding an en to big government and corruption. carrying 535 letters, one for each member of congress. it was a daring act of civil disobedience that also happened to be a federal crime. hughes made no secret of his plan, alerting the "tampa bay times" last year. >> i'm going violate the no-fly zone, nonviolently, i intend for nobody to get hurt. >> reporter: he acknowledged the risk to his safety. >> i don't believe that the authorities are going to shoot down a 60-year-old mailman in a flying bicycle. >> reporter: he insisted he was not a terrorist. >> terrorists don't broadcast their flight path. terrorists don't invite an escort to go along with them. >> reporter: hughes told the paper he took off from gettysburg, pennsylvania, an hour away, rounding the washington monument. giving him a clear view of the white house before landing at the capitol. >> i had no idea he would m

the pilot of that gyrocopter, doug hughes, is free tonight. we now know he is facing two charges, operating an unregistered aircraft and of course violating national air space. that incident is raising new questions about protecting washington. we have team coverage of this story tonight. let's start with chris gordon who was in the courtroom for hughes' hearing this afternoon. >> reporter: well, this flight of fancy has captured the imagination of many on social media some calling doug hughes a hero and others acknowledge it's a serious breach of security. hughes appeared here today at federal court with a lawyer appointed to represent him. pilot doug hughes previously announced he intended to fly into restricted air space. as a result, he faces federal charges for violating national defense air space and operating an unregistered aircraft. if convicted, he could be punished by up to four years in prison. in court today, hughes was ordered released on his own recognizance with conditions. he will be held in home detention in tampa florida. he

. >> reporter: gyrocopter pilot doug hughes is grounded, back with his family in florida. >> i was in shock. >> reporter: his wife and 11-year-old daughter speaking out about their dad's dangerous stunt, what he calls an act of civil disobedience protesting campaign financing. >> i was just downright proud. he's a patriot, you know? he did it for the country. >> reporter: though hughes shared his plan with a local reporter, he says his family knew nothing about it. >> it was intended to be a plan where only i took the risk, but it was very lonesome. >> reporter: the 61-year-old mailman now delivering new details about the trip. >> at no point did i feel that it was not a good idea. >> reporter: revealing that he took off from gettysburg, pennsylvania, flying 80 miles through maryland, straight into washington, d.c., using landmarks like the world war ii memorial and washington monument to navigate. hughes says he was surprised he actually made it to the capitol. >> i had expected to be intercepted on the way. >> reporter: if hughes had been detected flying through restricted airspace,

this was a gyrocopter piloted by a 61-year-old man a man named doug hughes from tampa who was trying to make a point about campaign finance reform. he flew that gyrocopter into this restricted air space by the washington monument, and you can see the white house in the foreground. he ended up here on the west lawn of the capitol. now, this is something that he has had planned, according to the "tampa bay times" and his friends for some time. in fact, one of his friends that we spoke to today said that they had been interviewed by the secret service over a year ago about a year ago, and the secret service was aware of the fact that doug hughes had something planned. but authorities say they are not commenting right now. they referred us, the secret service did, to the capitol police. scott? >> pelley: well, the secret service would be the wrong agency because, as you just pointed out the... i was just watching the video here. as you piloted out the capitol police have control of the capitol area. it would be their responsibility. we heard from norad earlier today, the north american a

doug hughes was able to fly this copter. he even made his plans public. it's even more disturbing to some lawmakers who say something should have been done to stop him. hughes, however, says all he wanted to do was deliver letters to congress about campaign finance reform. >> there were huge elements of this that were out of my at's fine. this all worked out to the good in that i got it delivered, nobody got hurt. >> reporter: if convicted hughes could face up to four years in prison and multiple fines. also testifying today, the nor -- the norad commander. i'm nikki burdine, wusa9. >>> the white house and house republicans are on a collision course this morning over proposed defense budget plans. the $600 billion plan includes measures that would make it harder for the president to empty guantanamo bay of detainees. the proposal would also restore funding for a fleet of aircraft the pentagon has been trying to retire. >>> only 118 votes separate the top to candidates laruby may leading with 27% of the vote in d.c. elections. trayon white has 25%. the son

karen: doug hughes insists he was never a security threat. >> i'm a mailman. i was delivering the mail. i don't think that the government is going to shoot a 61-year-old mailman in a flying bicycle. karen: this is brand new footage of hughes' gyrocopter flight taken from his perspective as he streaked down the gettysburg pennsylvania runway last wednesday. he flew 80 miles through maryland into washington, d.c. just 150 feet up in the air. you can see d.c. in the distance below as he makes his approach. he said he used landmarks like the world war ii memorial and the washington monument as guides. >> at the time that i was flying up the capitol mall and it was a huge thrill i wasn't worried about getting shot down. i was worried about my flying and it was getting focused on making my landing. karen: his 11-year-old daughter says she's standing by him. >> i was downright proud. he's a patriot, you know. he did it for the country. karen: hughes could get four years in prison. he says now it's up to the american people to continue the conversation about campaign

. >> a florida man named doug hughes claims to the pilot. he sent a letter to different news stations outlining a plan to fly a small plane to the west lawn and deliver letters to each member of congress. capitol police only have one man in custody and they cleared the scene. the bomb squad inspected the plane for well over an hour and took it away around 3:30. the big question, of course, was how was the plane able to get so close to the capitol. this entire area is supposed to be a no fly zone. we don't have an answer to. that capitol police are not planning on holding a press conference today. they will probably put out more information but we don't know many details on how the plane was able to get so close to the capitol. i'm allison barber wusa 9. a lot of people will be asking about that. garrett hake has been investigating this. >> we have doug hughes, he told his local newspaper that he first came up with this idea two and a half years ago after his son's suicide. about a year ago he started to get more serious and he got a visit fr

the pilot has been identified as 61-year-old doug hughes. he's due to make his first court appearance this afternoon. speaking to nbc news secretary johnson described his reaction to the breach. >> this individual apparently literally flew in under the radar. >> were you satisfied with the response? >> well, again, i want to see all of the facts and know all of the facts before i make any conclusions or draw judgments about yesterday's incident. >> nbc news peter alexander joins me with more on how hughes was available to avoid watchdogs and even the secret service. >> reporter: this episode gives new meaning to the idea of air mail. it happened less than 24 hours ago. right now on the marble mallnational mall we're in the middle of the gyrocopter's flight path before

. >> doug hughes says he was flying his message of finance reform right to congress but that message was apparently missed by norad, the capitol police and the secret service who actually interviewed hughes last year. they all seemed surprise when his gyrocopter touched down so close to the steps. renee marsh following the steps from the capitol lawn near the place where it landed. renee. >> this is not good people. >> reporter: apparently undetected and unauthorized. this small aircraft sailing through the most heavily guarded airspace in america. >> in about 45 seconds of his initial landing, there were multiple police cars on the scene. >> the florida mailman, 61-year-old doug hughes swarmed by police and a bomb squad after landing on the west lawn of the capitol building. the bizarre incident throwing the u.s. capital into chaos shug the air down for hours. >> i had carefully planned it so no one would get hurt. >> reporter: in this video published by tampa bay times, hughes says flying gyrocopter into the no-fly zone was all in protest, that he had been planning it for years. st

. >> reporter: doug hughes was charged with violating restricted air space and operating an unregistered aircraft. the 61-year-old postal worker from florida appeared in federal court in washington as questions are mounting how hughes could navigate his gyrocopter right through the no-fly zone around the nation's capital. he traveled more than 50 miles. sources say the gyro copter was too small, too slow and too low it so it was never detected. >> all this layer defense, these radars and sophisticated capabilities, hundreds of millions of dollars for naught. >> reporter: he told friends and family he wanted to deliver letters to lawmakers demanding change in campaign finance laws. he also told secret service agents about his plan a year ago. >> i'm going to violate the no-fly zone nonviolently. i intend for nobody to get hurt. >> reporter: the secret service said they received a call about 1:00 p.m. from a reporter with the tampa bay times who asked if the agency was aware of a permit obtained by hughes to fly and land on the capitol grounds. the secret service was unaware of such a requ

doug hughes is expected to make his first court appearance here in washington tomorrow. and late tonight, police are converging on the airport in gettysburg pennsylvania, where it's believed that hughes took off on this unprecedented stunt. lester? >> all right, peter alexander, thank you. >>> we turn to an emotional day in a massachusetts courtroom. former new england patriots player aaron hernandez learned his fate. convict of a 2013 murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. a stunning fall for someone who was once a superstar on the football field. nbc's ron mott takes us inside the courtr >>> what say you, madam foreperson? >> reporter: after a two-month trial and seven days of deliberations, a dramatic end to the future of one of the nfl's most promising stars, aaron hernandez. >> guilty of murder in the first degree. >> reporter: audible gasps, hernandez appearing to say "wrong" while staring at the jury. >> so say all members -- >> reporter: his mother and fiancee wiped away tears as did the family of the man he murdered. 27-year-old odin lloyd a frie

police quickly swarmed the chopper and took 61-year-old doug hughs into custody. he planned the stunt to make a statement. >> no sane person would do what i'm doing. >> reporter: the "tampa bay times" has been documenting his quest for months. it was intended to bring attention to what hughes believes is an urgent need for campaign finance reform. the political activist and u.s. postal worker was carrying letters for members of congress. >> i'm going to have 535 letters strapped to the landing gear. >> he was looking for a day when the weather is right. >> reporter: ben montgomery, the reporter who interviewed him, says hughes knew the cost of flying in restricted airspace. >> he was expecting helicopters to escort him. he thought they would first asses him as a threat realize that his gyrocopter was completely transparent, that he wasn't dangerous. >> reporter: hughes told police he started his flight from an airfield around gettysburg wednesday morning and headed 80 miles toward washington at low altitude within sight of the white house. the federal aviation adm

he identifies him as doug hughes. a man in his early 60's. a mailman who was a campaign finance reform zealot. he says that hughes has talked of doing this for more than a year. what we do know right now is a lot of people are asking how could an aircraft get this close to the u.s. capitol. it landed about 1:30 on the west lawn of the u.s. capitol when a small gyrocopter had a single occupant. u.s. capitol police sprang into action immediately and took that lone person into custody. >> we've been hearing

guns trained on doug hughes the whole time. according to a senator, he could have been blown out of the air. a classified briefing on once wednesday, he was more concerned about penetrating the air space. >> you can penetrate the air space and go thanundetected. we never got an alert that something was happening at the capitol. >> gyro copter pilot doug hughes is facing federal charges. he wanted to make the statement about money and politics. >> i don't know if this is worth it until i get through with it. we're through with it when we see if in the next election a serious dialogue about corruption and a serious commitment to solving the problem of corruption. that's what it's about. that's what makes it worth it. >> hughes is under house arrest and could get up to four years in prison. >>> a migrant crisis out of control. people resorting to drastic, dangerous measures to flee their homes with nowhere to go. we are live with the latest next. many w le creams come with high hopes, but hope... doesn't work on wrinkles. neutroge

washington lawmakers and secret service and others about how a florida male man doug hughes landed his gyrocopter on the capitol. now, nor rad says that gyrocopter was picked up on radar but it was not clear what it was. >> it has the same characteristic of flock of birds. it can appear the same way. >> is there anything that we have done that we would do differently if that were to happen today and someone would in various attempt that a terrorist would do the same thing. >> well, that question was followed by silence. the pilot doug hughes he's been charged with violating restrict i've aerospace. >>> 2500 nurses is expected to take part in a one day strike. administrators say they have h replacement nurses for five days. hospitals involved in today's strike are sma owe san mateo and sew ya. santa rosa. >>> it appears that the watch cannot sense that it is next to your skin if there is a heavy dark tattoo the watch will lock up because it cannot tell you are wearing it and it won't provide notifications. you can turn off the wrist detection to get around the issue. that detects apple

. >>> a 61-year-old doug hughes, that doesn't come from police or national security officials. it come from hughes himself. and he clearly could have been killed and not just in a crash of this mini chopper. here's some video of his arrest. lawmakers say capitol police had at least one rifleman on the balcony set to shoot this pilot if it looked like the small chopper would strike the capitol building but it didn't. it appears this was not a terrorist attack. instead a protest. hughes who is a 61-year-old florida postal worker put up an elaborate website announcing his plans which he call civil disobedience. he said i have no violent inclinations or swenltintent. just delivering the mail. and he had 535 letters, one addressed to every member of congress. to galvanize millions of people to change the government. that was his dream. he said i don't believe that the authorities are going to shoot down a 60-year-old mailman in a flying bicycle but i would rather die in the flight than live to be 80 years old and see this country fall. hughes charges that our electoral process is co

doug hughes faces charges. he has been released on home confinement. he says he pulled off this stunt to call for the need for campaign finance reform. >>> congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle trying to hammer out a deal to grant the president fast track trade necessity negotiateing authority. under the legislations congress gets an up or down vote but not able to make changes. that is a concern for labor and environmental groups. house speaker john boehner is backing the deal but the deal rests on the president's shoulders. >>> eric holder is still the attorney general and loretta lynch is still waiting. senate republicans have tied the lynch nomination to an un unresolved human trafficking bill. now senator harry reid says he will force a vote on lynch if it doesn't happen soon. a likely presidential contender jeb bush breaking with fellow republicans. he is calling for lynch to be confirmed as soon as possible. let's get more from jim acosta. >> reporter: john and christine, the white house is lashing out at republicans over the tactics

postal service there on the background, this doug hughes is a postal worker. he said he would deliver 535 letters addressed to every single congressman based on campaign finance reform. so if this is indeed the same person, from this highly-produced video, it appears to be a postal worker from tampa. melissa. melissa: on campaign finance reform wow. >> campaign finance reform. melissa: i was mad about tax policy today. maybe i'm focused on the wrong issue. blake, thank you so much for that. wow. the verdict is in. all details as the aaron hernandez trial finally comes to an end. more "money," a lot of answers coming up. >> what say you madam foreperson, is the defendant not guilty, guilty of murder in the first agree or guilty of murder in the second degree? >> guilty of murder in the first agree. melissa: that was scene in massachusetts courtroom earlier today when former nfl player and super bowl champion aaron hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder in killing of odin lloyd. hernandez faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. fox new

. >> the first glimpse of doug hughes, the pilot of that gyrocopter that landed right on the lawn of the capitol. this new video shows him flying through what should be a flow fly zone zooming past the world war ii memorial over the heads of tourists through the national mall and past the washington monument into this is not good, people. >> now serious questions about hughes dodged the nation's radar and missile security systems. starting his journey in gettysburg traveling the 80 miles to the national mall in washington, d.c. flying just 150 feet bob ground. at roughly 45 miles per hour. homeland security secretary jeh johnson admitting the pilot "literally flew in under the radar and from the white house, serious concern." >> it may provide an opportunity for law enforcement agencies including the secret service to review their procedures. >> reporter: the postal worker made no secret of his brazen plans, shooting this video with his local newspaper. practicing his is wobbly flight back home in florida. hughes himself said he put the authorities on notice before his stunt. >> i do

they approached and questions doug hughes. he had a political spat with a family member who sent the secret service a letter that outlined his plan and then showed up at his house according to him at 1:00 a.m., questioning him for about 45 minutes. came back to his work at the post office two days later, questioned him and a colleague with whom he had shared his plans and doug said they both seemed satisfied and they never contacted -- >> i read your lengthy article in quat the tampa bay times," saw the video you guys posted. you've known about this planned flight for some time, right? >> yes, sir. he first contacted me last summer by telephone and said look, i'm a nonviolent person. i'm going to commit an act of civil disobedience to try to bring attention to campaign finance reform. and in the event i get hurt or arrested i need somebody to tell my backstory. we had a cup of coffee, he explained his plan. and we've been in touch since then every few months. >> i assume you were concerned once he learned that he was taking of

doug hughes said he has been planning it for two years. he was carrying 535 letters addressed to lawmakers, asking for campaign finance reform. he single in an interview with the tampa bay times that he wants a, quote, wall of separation between the government and big money so government will represent the people. the writer who did that feet bur hughes said he doubt that had the plan would be successful. >> i had no idea he would make hit the far. i thought for sure he would be forced down somewhere before this. he left gettysburg, pennsylvania about an hour of flight time. i thought, there's no way he is going to make it all the way here. i saw him come over the top of the buildings and just a speck in the distance. >> you thought what? >> holy heavens, he might make it. >> hughes be e-mailed a number of media across the country including news4 shortly before the flight. he said he carefully planned the flight so the government and authorities would know that he was coming. and he says noted intention of risking anyone's life including h

>> good afternoon larry, doug hughes did not answer any questions today after he left court. after his appearance in washington. he just smiled as he walked away with his attorneys, despite many questions directed at him, the secret service put out a statement today saying the agency had no advance notice about hughes' plans to take that gyro copter and fly it right up to the capitol. >> doug hughes was charged with violating restricted airspace and operating an unregistered aircraft. the 61-year-old postal worker from florida appeared in federal court today in washington. as questions are mounting how he could navigate his gyro copter right through the no fly zone. he travelled more than 50 miles. but it was too small, too slow and too low so it was never detected. >> all the layers of defense, the radar, sophisticated cape aeshlt hundreds of millions of dollars for not. >> he wanted to deliver letters to lawmakers demanding change in campaign finance laws. he also told secret service agents about his plan a year ago. >> i'm going to violate the no fly zone nonviolently and

. >> this is not good people. 61-year-old letter carrier doug hughes landed his aircraft right there in front of the capitol. >> i saw out of nowhere a machine that locked like something from "chitty chitty bang bang." it flew and bounced once and landed on the grass. >> that is a good reference. "road warrior" is more accurate. hughes was promptly arrested. the gyro copter was examined by the bomb squad and carted away. homeland security officials said hughes would have been shot down if he had come closer to the capitol building. the secret service interviewed hughes in 2013 on a tip concluding he did not pose a threat. the flight wednesday is not a surprise to everyone. he told the "tampa bay times" about list plan and let the paper shoot the video, which admits it is a stunt. he said he is willing to risk his life to the corrupting power of money in politics. >> i'm going to violate the no-fly zone. nonviolently. i intend for nobody to get hurt and i will land on the capitol mall in front of the capitol building. i'll have 535 letters strapped to the landing gear in boxes. those

any moment now that pilate, doug hughes is expected in a federal court room. he will be charged under the transportation act. the head of the department of homeland security said earlier today that gyro copter just flew right under the radar. washington d.c., any areas here are restricted airspace. wondering how secure our air spaces. ron johnson said earlier today i am quoting here, i am investigating this incident and i say full account of all federations securing the united states from this and similar events. the press secretary josh earnest was asked about this whole gyro copter incident. if anything, this could serve as a learning experience. >> we certainly are pleased that no one was harmed in this incident. it may provide an opportunity for law enforcement agencies, including the secret service to improve and get useful weapons from it. >> a much harsher assessment today. speaking about air security. he said there is a gap. "a very dangerous gap". melissa: thank you so much. airplanes really are getting too cozy. a new plan to cut leg room and head ro

. >> no, you are not supposed to do that. 61-year-old letter carrier doug hughes landed in front of the capitol. >> i saw out of nowhere a machine that looked like something from "chitty chitty bang bang" flew and bounced once and landed on the grass. >> the gyro copter was examined by the bomb squad and carted away. the aircraft did not show up on radar, but homeland security officials said hughes would have been shot down if he was closer. he was interviewed in 2013 and was deemed not a threat. he told the tampa bay times about his plans. he let the paper shoot a video in which he admits it is a crazy stunt. he said he was willing to risk his life to protest what he called the corrupting power of money in polliticspolitics. >> i'll violate the no-fly zone nonviolently and i intend for nobody to get hurt. i'm going to land on the capitol mall in front of the capitol building. i'll have an 535 letters strapped to the landing gear in boxes. those letters will be addressed to every member of congress. >> you see the post office emblem on the back there. he is not using the post office. he

we'll know in a few hours if doug hughes who said he didn't want to hurt anybody will soon go back to delivering mail or he will go back to jail. gregg: the head of the homeland security committee said had it gotten any closer to the speaker's balcony they have long guns to take it down, but it did not. did this guy just expose a big hole in our security? we'll talk about that later on. united states debt well over $18 trillion. japan and china own more of our debt than the federal reserve. now, remember back in 2008 then candidate barack obama called his predecessor unpatriotic for borrowing too much money. >> the problem is the way bush has done it the last 8 years is to take out a credit card from the bank of china in the name our children driving up our national debt from $5 trillion. number 43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome. gregg: number 44 made it even worse. stewart varney is with us. in is no lack of hypocrisy in washington, d.c. >> reporter: what senator obama called unpatriotic back then has become a necessity by 2015 because president obama is overspending. and the over

homeland security is looking into the gap. 61-year-old doug hughes is facing charges for violating the air space and operating the aircraft. he has been released on home confinement and said he did this all to call attention to the need for campaign finance reform. >>> now let's look at your money. the dow down about six points but 1% shy from the record high. a trader brought to a halt here this morning. bloomberg terminals around the world, a blackout. the world lost connection to the bloomberg machines. without them, they have trouble figuring out what is happening in the market. no word from bloomberg yet. one of their tech people telling us they don't really know what is happening here. they can't tell us when things will be up and running. a lot of buzz around the world. my bloomberg terminal is dark. >>> if you ordered an apple watch, get ready to wait. the original plan have watches for sale next friday in stores. you can try them on in stores. the stores are one big fitting room. you can pre-order online but you have to wait for june for the watch to ship. apple not saying why

61-year-old doug hughes under arrest in washington after he flew a gyro copter on to the lawn of the u.s. capitol today. now to tell us why he did that mismartha maccallum who anchors a co-at 9 a.m. eastern time. >> did you see that was right a gyro copter flying across the capitol lawn. it didn't get too far across the lawn at 2:00 today it went down today, it went down. and they prompted arrested doug hughes, he's a mailman, 61, married, four children, no criminal record -- >> where's he from? >> tampa. >> he's a floridian. why is doug disrupting everything? why is he doing it? >> doug has a website. and he's outraged about campaign finance reform. >> campaign finance reform. >> and you know what a lot of people agree with him. >> is it possible that doug was just delivering the mail? >> doug said he was not terrorizing anyone. 535 letters to congress. and he felt the only way to get attention, the poor guy, is to actually do something like this. he's getting it. >> he didn't terrorize anybody, just closed the whole city down because this loon did this. he's probably going to get t

hughes taped that with the tampa bay times before he embarked on his solo flight to the capitol lawn. he was not shot down, he was not forced down out of the sky by a fighter jet or something he appears to have not been hurt in this landing, he was arrested once he landed on the capitol grounds. they didn't bring in a bomb squad. cone siding with the start of his flight, he posted online a big explanation for what he was doing at democracyclub.org. you can read the letter he wrote to members of congress. he links to a bunch of groups who are working in a smart way on campaign finance reform, this issue he was trying to highlight with a stunt today. his flight into the no fly zone was his personal attempt to try to get big money out of american politics it was all he could think to do as a citizen. if that becomes as mange stream as you can get. if that becomes the hillary clinton for president cause, if this is not a few tile tilting at wind mills activist effort any more, but something that gets taken on at the highest levels of american national politics. could something actually g

. >> reporter: he is 61-year-old doug hughes a postal worker from florida who posted this video online showing the training for the stunt he prepared for a year ago. >> i would rather die in the flight than live to be 80 years old and see this country fall. >> reporter: hughes knew he could be shot down in restricted aerospace, but he did notify secret service about his plan. agents spoke with him and a friend a year ago. >> he wanted to do something that was spectacular, i was against i want from the beginning and to the end because i knew how dangerous it was. >> reporter: hughes' flight within 100 yards of the capitol buildings raising new concerns about security. >> how does an individual get that close? >> reporter: norad said it is working to find out how the systems missed it. >> it was a close call at 15th and market in center city. the man walked too close to the edge and fell on the one way track. a good samaritan jumped in to save the person he is doing fine. >>> three people accused of attacking two gay men in center city. all from bucks county are accused of using gay slur

his name is doug hughes. witnesses were shaken up. >> this is not good, people. >> authorities placed the capitol grounds on lockdown. hughes did not resist arrest, in fact he was open about the stunt all along telling the florida newspaper about his plan and contacting the secret service a year ago. lawmakers are demanding answer as to how he was able to carry out the brazen air space breach. the secret service has confiscated his trailer which was parked in pennsylvania. "good morning america" will have more on the stunt at 7:00 a.m. right after "action news." >> happening today a pretrial hearing is she woulded for the three people -- is scheduled for the three people accused of attacking two gay men in center city. they are accused of using gay slurs before beating the couple back in september. one of the men suffered a broken jaw. defense lawyers say both parties played a role and sexual orientation it was not the issue. >> new on "action news," the family of three bucks county teenagers who died in a cr

i think people more with the back story here doug hughes, his son committed suicide a couple of years ago drove into another car. and that's when he got his epiphany to go big on something. he might have had letters for 35 3 35 members of congress or a plan b if i do get within a perimeter, maybe i'll do what my son did. we don't know. it may not be just looking for somebody to publicity stunt. i don't know how heads haven't rolled at the secret service. >> it's scary because the whole world sees this and realizes that if we can't protect the capitol, if we can't protect the president and, you're right. the packages have been innocent thus far. is it going to take a catastrophe for heads to roll? if s there someone at the administrative level, someone who is making the calls here isn't doing their job properly there's no reason why any of the people shouldn't be anywhere near this. if you're asking people question and investigating someone and they're saying they have plans to do this why are you not tracking them? this guy is getting in the air. it's madness. >> that's why they broug

doug hughes is scheduled to make his appearance at 1:30 this afternoon. he's facing charges for flying into restricted airspace. that's sparking more questions about security in our area. senator ron johnson chairs the homeland security committee. he's issued this statement just a little while ago. he says "i am deeply concerned that someone has the ability to fly for over an hour through the most restricted airspace in our country and land on the lawn of the capitol. i'm investigating this incident and requesting a full accounting by all federal organizations entrusted with securing the united states with from this and similar events. news 4's derek ward will have much more on hughes and what the secret service may have known at 11:15. >>> a live look at the white house this morning where new security changes could be approved today. the i team's scott macfarlane broke this story on twitter. the security plan calls for steel spikes to be added to the top of the fence outside the white house. the changes are in response to the incident where a man made it

this after doug hughes flew on to the capitol lawn with the gyrocopter yesterday. the word gyrocopter has been trending on line after 61-year-old mail carrier violated d.c.'s no-fly zones. now over 63,000 treats have been sent about the capitol security failure. the symbolism of hughes' act, the pulse question of the day -- is the gyrocopter pilot a patriot or law-breaker? vote now. have your reaction heard about whether or not he should be punished. frances, this has been such a big talker about the patriot in the gyrocopter and how people feel. there are other stories to talk about, too. >> there are. it's throwback thursday huge on social media. and some old picture now of mitt romney and president obama at chipotle trending sparked from this picture monday of hillary clinton at a chipotle near toledo, ohio. as parts of her scooby van journey to iowa, it's caused tons of social media buzz. then there is this throwback photo of president obama from june of 2014 chipotle. that's trending too with jokes that it's proof of his presidential overreach. remember how th

doug hughes is now facing serious charges. he back at home in florida. matt kellar tells us about the message the postal worker was trying to deliver. >> reporter: for the first time we take a look at the daring journey of doug hughes. the postal worker had an incredible view from atop his gyrocopter. here he raced down the runway preparing his takeoff from gettysburg, pennsylvania. this was the beginning of his 80-mile trip to the capitol. you could see d.c. below him as he made his approach. the 61-year-old landed on the west lawn of the capitol to deliver a political statement about campaign finance reform. on an exclusive interview on "good morning america" he told george stephanopoulos what was going through his mind. >> i'm a mailman and i was delivering the male and i don't think the government was going to shoot a man who was not threatening anyone. >> he's on leave from his job and is facing four years in jail. he began house arrest in florida. still his daughter says she's standing by her father. >> i was proud. he's a patriot you know? he did

capitol. 51-year-old doug hughes piloted his gyro copter through restricted air space today. yes he is in big trouble. he took off from gettysburg streaming life the whole way. hughes had warned he was trying to pull it off and today he did. as fox's sherri ly explains the threat of getting arrested apparently wasn't enough to stop a plan years in the making making. >> i noticed loud noise coming up. i turned left to look towards washington monument. >> reporter: people all around the us capitol so the gyro copter coming in it flew in over the national mall all alone no fighter jets tailing it. >> i noticed helicopter arriving arriving. it was already coming down in front of the lawn. 100 yards in front of me and then it landed bounce add little bit and then kind of just stood there report roar u.s. capitol police swarmed the copter guns drawn. the pilot identified by the tampa bay times as doug hughes landed on the west lawn to protest what he believed was the corruption of campaign financing financing. win a minute or two police took him away. >> then a bomb dog was brought

that inexcusable. >> doug hughes is now facing federal charges. he told anderson cooper last night he pulled the stunt to make a statement about the influence in politics. >> i don't know if this is worth it until we are through with it. we will not know until the next election with the corruption and solving the problem of corruption. you don't want me grandstanding on that. i respect that. that's what it is about. >> hughes is under house arrest. he could get up to four years if convicted. >>> the nfl has worked out a settlement to compensate players that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. coy wire has that in the bleacher report next. >>> despite security gaps and gun smuggling by airport employees, the tsa will not conduct full employee screenings. such screenings will not help improve security because they cannot determine a worker's motivations or ability to cause harm. most airports cannot afford to screen employees. the head of airport security is asking the tsa to do criminal background checks every two years and random screening

you can see doug hughes allegedly landing this gyrocopter right there on the lawn at the capitol. he actually had been planning this, quote, act of civil disobedience as he called it to bring attention to political corruption, specifically campaign finance reform. hughes said he wrote letters to every single member of congress and after he landed at the capitol, he planned to deliver them to those members of congress. obviously that didn't happen but we spoke with a few witnesses yesterday who watched it all go down. >> we heard it go down. we weren't sure what it was. lots of sirens. i kept thinking where are all these crazy people coming from. it just is incredible that somebody would want to do that. >> reporter: who else knew about this plan? perhaps even more disturbing we found out the secret service actually knew about doug hughes' plan to fly that gyrocopter to the capitol lawn. in fact, they even interviewed him about a year ago. why wasn't it stopped? we still don't have the answer to that question but we hope to learn more today as hughes is expected to be in court some

doug hughes arriving back in florida overnight facing cameras and questions. >> at no point did i feel that it was not a good idea. >> reporter: for the first time since his arrest on a u.s. capitol lawn he revealed what it was like on the controversial flight taking off from gettysburg, pennsylvania flying 80-miles in washington, traveling 45 miles-per-hour. >> i expected to be intercepted on the way. >> reporter: the 61-year-old floridian said the trip was colder than expected, and while the gyrocopter is equipped with gps, he says he used landmarks to guide himself, past their world war ii monument. authorities say hughes made it to the lawn because on radar his small aircraft looked like a car. but if he had gotten any closer capitol police had long rifles in position to shoot him down. still, concern remains that hughes exposed a critical weakness in homeland security. >> 1920s technology that is pointing out flaws in $100 million air defense system. >> in this case the guy was going postal literally. exposed a vulnerable that terrorists can exploit. >> reporter: for his part the

the tampa bay times e-mailed and called the capital police press office just 23 minutes before doug hughes landed. and the police say the times never mentioned that he was on the way. but the government oversight chair hughes was livecasting his flight all over the web. >> do y'all not monitor social media? is twitter like a new thing for ya? this stuff is out there. try google alerts. it's there. if it's not showing up on the radar, it was showing up on the media's radar. >> there you go. norad says current radar didn't distinguish between a gyro copter and something like a bird. the pentagon is working on a new system but it wasn't yet operational. >>> we have learned that police have arrested three more suspects connected to an act of vandalism to a synagogue. one is 16 the other two are 14. police arrested an 18-year-old already. the suspects were caught on security cameras last month defacing the synagogue on main street. >>> a baby in the hospital after a house fire. firefighters responded to the 1200 block of michigan avenue around 11:00 when they got word there were smoke pouring o

he identifies him as doug hughes. a man in his early 60's. a mailman who was a campaign finance reform zealot. he says that hughes has talked of doing this for more than a year. what we do know right now is a lot of people are asking how could an aircraft get this close to the u.s. capitol. it landed about 1:30 on the west lawn of the u.s. capitol when a small gyrocopter had a single occupant. u.s. capitol police sprang into action immediately and took that lone person into custody. >> we've been hearing sirens and we didn't know what was going on. blocked off and turned off. stephen: while the bomb squad inspected the gyrocopter streets around the capitol shut down and those on hand asked how could a gyrocopter get so close to the u.s. capitol? violate a no-fly zone in this post-september 11th world. >> how did that guy get in here? that was the big thing and that's what everybody was talking about with airspace being restricted and all that. how could he fly a helicopter and land on the lawn of the capital building you know? stephen: while

doug hughes, he flew what we're now learning is called a gyrocopter. >> do not call it a helicopter. >> do not. >> into restricted airspace. he landed on the west lawn of the capital. the 62-year-old said it was a protest against influence of money in politics. you're looking at video right there of it. >> he was carrying letters for every member of congress arguing for finance reform. whatever his reasons aside, he flew right through what was supposed to be the most restricted and protected airspace on earth. this raises serious security concerns. joining us now to discuss this very close to where that aircraft landed our aviation correspondent rene marsh. good morning, rene. >> reporter: good morning john and kate it landed in that green space behind me, very close, i'm at the base of the actual capitol building. i'm steps from there. he will make his first court appearance, be before a judge to hear what he's charged with. it's unclear at this point exactly what the charges will be. in addition to criminal charges he could also face civil penalties. we should note, and everyone kn