Washington - A US postal worker who sparked a Washington security alert when he landed his gyrocopter on the Capitol lawn pleaded not guilty to all six counts Thursday and vowed not to pull a similar stunt again.
Charges include flying without a license and operating an unregistered aircraft after Douglas Hughes, 61, landed his mini helicopter on the grounds of the US Capitol, the seat of Congress in the heart of Washington.
Hughes, from Ruskin, Florida, passed through three no-fly zones before landing the bare-bones device, decorated with a US Postal Service flag.
He also faces four misdemeanor charges for violating national airspace and operating a vehicle that was incorrectly labeled as a postal carrier.
He faces up to nine-and-a-half years in prison and was arraigned in a US District Court in Washington Thursday to receive the charges.
"Mr Hughes pleaded not guilty to all six charges in the indictment," a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, William Miller, said in a statement.
In an interview before the incident, Hughes told the Tampa Bay Times he wanted to exercise his right to civic disobedience to protest campaign finance reform.
He said Thursday he had accepted the consequences of the act and promised not to do it again -- but did not exactly say he had regrets.
"Let me be clear, I'll never do anything like this again, but I would do it exactly the way I did," he told reporters after his arraignment.
"I accepted the consequences of what I was doing because I believed it's critical that we return the democracy to the people."
After the incident, Hughes was barred from returning to Washington except to appear in court, was ordered to stay away from the White House and Capitol and was banned from operating any aircraft.
He was also placed under house arrest in his Florida home.
Judge Alan Kay said most restrictions remained in place, but lifted the house arrest order.
Hughes is next due in court on May 27 for a status hearing.
The incident triggered a security scare in downtown Washington, which was crowded with tourists during cherry blossom season at the National Mall, home to the Capitol building.
AFP
