--- title: Gyrocopter Pilot Who Landed on Capitol Sentenced to 120 Days description: Douglas Hughes, who landed his gyrocopter on the U.S. Capitol lawn last year in protest, was sentenced to 120 days in jail canonical: https://time.com/4304353/us-capitol-gyrocopter-pilot-sentenced-jail-time/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-22T00:09:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:57:25.603Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Man Who Flew Gyrocopter to Capitol Sentenced to 120 Days in Jail og:description: "I'll never do this again. But yes, it was worth it. Four months? Yeah." og:url: https://time.com/4304353/us-capitol-gyrocopter-pilot-sentenced-jail-time/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33455efa3c54697c/6988904a8e0601050e4658f5/gyrocopter-pilot.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Gyrocopter Pilot Douglas Hughes Recieves Court Sentence og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Man Who Flew Gyrocopter to Capitol Sentenced to 120 Days in Jail twitter:description: "I'll never do this again. But yes, it was worth it. Four months? Yeah." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33455efa3c54697c/6988904a8e0601050e4658f5/gyrocopter-pilot.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Man Who Flew Gyrocopter to U.S. Capitol Sentenced to 120 Days in Jail  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Apr 22, 2016 12:09 AM CUT  Douglas Hughes speaks with reporters at the Federal Courthouse after his sentencing, in Washington on April 21. Douglas Hughes speaks with reporters at the Federal Courthouse after his sentencing, in Washington on April 21.Al Drago—CQ Roll Call/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Apr 22, 2016 12:09 AM CUT Douglas Hughes, who landed his gyrocopter on the U.S. Capitol lawn last year to protest the campaign finance system, was [sentenced to 120 days in jail](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/capitol-gyrocopter-pilot-douglas-hughes-sentenced-120-days-n560091 "undefined") on Thursday. Hughes pleaded guilty in November to the felony of operating as an airman without an airman’s certificate, NBC News reported. Hughes flew from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. through restricted airspace in his open-cockpit gyrocopter on April 15, 2015, Hughes was also sentenced on Thursday to serve one year’s probation, when he will be barred from the U.S. Capitol and the White House. The mail carrier from Florida [rejected a plea deal](http://time.com/3968087/gyrocopter-rejects-plea-deal/ "undefined") last year that would have sentenced him to 10 months in jail. At the time, his attorney said zero to six months would be a more reasonable sentence. At the sentencing, Hughes’s attorneys praised him as a hero fighting corporate influence on politics. “Heck, yes,” Hughes said, when asked if the protest was worth it. “I’ll never do this again. But yes, it was worth it. Four months? Yeah.” \[[NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/capitol-gyrocopter-pilot-douglas-hughes-sentenced-120-days-n560091 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4304353/us-capitol-gyrocopter-pilot-sentenced-jail-time/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4304353/us-capitol-gyrocopter-pilot-sentenced-jail-time/"},"headline":"Man Who Flew Gyrocopter to U.S. Capitol Sentenced to 120 Days in Jail","datePublished":"2016-04-22T00:09:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:57:25.603Z","description":"\"I'll never do this again. But yes, it was worth it. Four months? 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