A man who piloted a one-person gyrocopter through some of the most restricted U.S. airspace and landed on the lawn of the Capitol in Washington has been sentenced to 120 days in jail.
Florida resident Douglas Hughes was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Washington by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
Hughes has said his April 15, 2015, flight in the bare-bones aircraft — which began in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania — was a way to call attention to the influence of big money in politics.
Hughes pleaded guilty in November to a felony of operating a gyrocopter without a license.
Prosecutors asked he be sentenced to 10 months in prison, arguing that the former mail carrier from Ruskin, Florida, put countless lives at risk. Hughes' attorneys argued he should be allowed to remain out of jail.
