Gyrocopter Security Gap...

Security Or Campaign Finance Reform? Which Message Did Gyrocopter Deliver To U.S. Capitol?

By JIM LEVULIS

The mailman who landed his gyrocopter on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol spurred plenty of chatter in the hallowed halls, but most is not about what he was trying to get the elected officials to pay attention to.

The Associated Press published the video of the one-person aerial vehicle flying toward the U.S. Capitol which was captured by Charlotte Richardson.

With a United States Postal Service sticker on the tail, 61-year-old Doug Hughes flew his gyrocopter from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania roughly 70 miles to Washington, landing on the U.S. Capitol lawn on the afternoon of April 15th. Bringing along 535 letters, one for every member of Congress, the Florida resident intended to raise awareness of campaign finance reform. He had planned the trip for more than two years and at some point the federal government questioned Hughes about his intentions, as was documented by the Tampa Bay Times.

But the postman apparently failed to deliver his message to Congressman Richard Neal.

“I think there are other ways to make your point,” said Neal.

According to staffers, the Massachusetts Democrat was not in the Capitol when the copter landed. Neal says the safety of the pilot is what jumped out at him.

“He was in violation of airspace,” Neal said. “I think that as you can see what’s happening with commercial activity for drones, this situation has to be assessed very carefully as we go forward. But not to miss the point, he broke the law and it ought to be treated as such.”

Hughes spent a night in jail. He was given an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet before returning to Florida, where he is supposed to remain mostly on house arrest until a May 8th court hearing in Washington. The charges he’s facing include violating national airspace and operating an unregistered aircraft.

Hughes’ action has mostly raised security concerns among those in Washington, already a subject of intense scrutiny. Over the past year multiple people have gotten inside the White House fence, one even opening a door to the president’s home. The Secret Service has undergone a shakeup after questions were raised over agents’ behavior. Members of Congress are calling for even more reform within the agency after former agent Joseph Clancy was appointed acting director after the resignation of Julia Pierson last October.

Whatever happens to Hughes, he apparently got the kind of attention he wanted from Congressman Paul Tonko, who has called the Citizens United Supreme Court decision one of the court’s worst.

“I would think that we’re talking about it so he got his point across, but it was an awkward way to do it,” Tonko said when asked. “Let’s hope that policymakers will pick up on the issues and move forward in a progressive fashion.

The New York Democrat says Hughes was carrying a very important message.

“Getting dark money out of politics is absolutely important,” Tonko said. “Wealth happens to be buying seats in Congress. Then we come up with those seats advancing a wealth-related agenda. We need to speak to the needs of the many of us and we do that I think by sound campaign finance reform.”

Tonko was inside the Capitol Visitor Center when the gyrocopter landed. He says he heard about the incident as he got out of a meeting finding the Capitol was in lockdown. Asked whether Hughes’ actions raised security concerns, Tonko talked about the subject broadly.

“Cybersecurity is a big issue,” Tonko said. “We’ve had hearings, appropriate committees and reviewing policy approaches to offer additional security in a very difficult time. An era where much concern about cybersecurity and general safety is out there. We’ll continue to go forward and hopefully do the progressive things that enable us to speak to public safety.”