on this wednesday night, panic on the hill. a postal worker forcing a lockdown by landing a small copter on the capitol lawn. how did he get into restricted airspace especially since he made secret of hi life in prison. aaron hernandez, the ex-nfl star who had it all, now convicted and sentenced for a cold-blood murder. tonight, what the jury is sa about the verdict. is it the end of spring break? the ugly moment, a woman assaulted on a crowded beach. tonight, the popular d saying they have spring break and space invaders. many airlines looking to squish passengers even closer together. it might get uncomfortable, but is it hazardous, too? "nightly news" begins now. ♪

good evening. a small gyro-copter piloted by a florida postman caused flew apparently unchallenged into highly restricted airspace in the center of washington, d.c., and landed on the lawn the u.s. capitol. the capitol went into immediate lockdown as police searched the aircraft for explosives. and now once again questions are being raised about how well the nation's capitol is secured against aerial threats. tonight the pilot is in custody, and we now know his bizarre landing wasn't exactly a surprise. peter alexander explains. >> reporter: they say things never move fast on capitol hill. today was an exception. >> this is not good, people. >> reporter: coming in for a landing of the lawn of the u.s. 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 make it this far. i thought for sure he'd be brought down or forced down before this.

>> reporter: it's the latest in a string of security breaches including a drone that landed at the white house earlier this year. after arresting hughes, authorities found nothing hazardou. >> the capitol police are going to have to regroup, and the airspace in the district, everybody who's in charge of that has to regrou police helicopters should have been forcing this guy down before he ever reached t capitol. >> reporter: right now you see capitol police are ready to haul away the gyro-copter, but not until after the capitol grounds were locked down and the area was evacuated. after blogging about his plans a year ago, the secret service interviewed hughes in florida. today he live streamed his flight but it's not clear whe enforcemen before he got here doug hughes is expected his first court 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. convicted of a 2013 murder and sentenced to life in priso without parole. a stunning fall for someone who was once a superstar on the football field. nbc's ron mott takes us inside the courtroom. what say you, madam foreperson? >> reporter: after a two-month trial and seven days of deliberations, a dramatic en 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 friend and semi pro football player found shot in a field a half mile from hernandez' million-dollar home. >> i forgive the hands of the people who had a hand in my

son's murder. either before or after. and i pray and hope that someday everyone out there will forgive them also. >> reporter: the case against him was largely circumstantial. the murder weapon never recovered, a clear motive never established by the state. prosecutors had surveillance video that appeared to show hernandez holdin was killed, as well as physical evidence putting him at the scene. >> the jury found he was just a man who committed a brutal murder. the fact that he was a professional athlete meant nothing in the end. >> reporter: jurors heard from more than 130 witnesses. >> we followed the court's orders, assumed the man sitting in that seat is innocent until the prosecution proves he's guilty. that's what happened today. >> reporter: on the field, hernandez' career was lo when he was arrested. a $40 million contract in hand, a super bowl touchdown on resume. off the field, troubles.

>> he lived a secret double life. he was a very good football player. when he went home for the day, he lived a very secret, duplicitous life. >> reporter: hernandez was immediately transported to his new home -- a maximum security prison a mile and a half from the stadium where he was once cheered. this is not the last courtroom aaron hernandez will see. later this year, it's expected he will stand trial for double murder up in boston. this stems from a drive-by shooting there in the 2012. he has pleaded not guilty in that case. he's also being sued in civil court by a man who says aaro hernandez sh lester? >> ron, thank you. we turn to arizona now. on the heels of several recent incidents raising alarm about the use of police force, shocking video has surfaced of an officer taking down an armed suspect by hitting him with his car. but there's a lot more to the story which is why the police department says it's somethi that had to be done. nbc national correspondent miguel almaguer has the story.

i got a male -- >> reporter: as police pursued the armed suspect, dash camera captured the violent collisi >> oh -- [ bleep ] [ bleep ] >> man down. >> reporter: this is a graphic view from officer michael rapiejko's car as he slams into the suspect at 40 miles an hour. >> outside of the box, it's unusual. but if he doesn't take that action, i believe we'll prob answer questions to a much horrific tragedy. >> reporter: mario valencia was hospitalized but survived crash. booked for holding up a convenience store, trying to burn down this church, robbing a home, hijacking a car, then driving to a walmart whe police say he stole a rifle. marana police officer dan rowan spots the suspect holding the rifle to his chin. >> the gun to his neck. [ gunshot ] >> reporter: a single shot is fired into the air by valencia.

>> one round just went out. >> a unit -- stand off, stand off! the gun is loaded! >> reporter: moments later, the officer rams the suspect. >> oh! >> reporter: valencia's attorney outraged by the use of force. >> i do believe the intent was to kill my client. it's a miracle that he's not dead. >> reporter: with officer rapiejko cleared of all criminal charges, tonight there's public debate whether the action saved lives or displayed excessive force. while the officer behind the wheel has been cleared of any criminal charges, he does face an internal conduct probe here at police headquarters. the police chief telling us he stands by his officer's side. as for the suspect, he's been released from the hospital. he faces 11 felony charges and has not yet entered a plea. lester? >> miguel, thank you. we turn to politics tonight. and some provocative comme new jersey governor chris christie who hasn't said if he's planning to run for president but says if he does he will beat hillary clinton. at a town hall meeting in new hampshire, christie defended his

new proposals to cut social security for upper income seniors, to raise the retirement age to 69, and to increase premiums for medicare. in an exclusive interview this afternoon, matt lauer sat down with christie and asked him about cutting entitlements. what some are calling good policy but bad politics. >> this country needs more good policy and less good politics. and the fact is that if you want to start a national conversation, you should talk about the thing that consumes 71% of the federal budget. and if you don't, then you have no right to talk about the other 29% because you won't have any money to pay for it. so for me, if you want to start a national conversation, i start it with entitlements intentionally because it is the single-most important issue when it consumes 71% of all the money we spend in the federal government -- >> eve lot of friends? >> listen, you know, i h it doesn't bring brings people who respec >> there was a time when people talked about 2016 all of the buzz on the republican side about you.

>> yeah. >> is it possible that while you were dealing -- and i don't want to call them distractions because that makes them sound trivial -- with these serious issues of bridgegate b jersey that your most passed? >> i don't and neither do you. we'll see. i'll tell you this much -- i've been the front-runner before. it's a place where the bull's eye's on your back and everybody's shooting at you. that's okay. i'm fine with exactly where i am now because i haven't changed. and when we start to talk if we run about really serious issues that face this country, i have an opportunity to be able to convince people the same way i would have had to convince the otherwise, matt. all that other stuff i artificial untilly begins. the game hasn't come close to beginnin >> you can watch more of the interview with governor christie tomorrow morning o another issue that's already making its way to the presidential campaign -- higher wages for hourly employees. around the country today, workers took to the streets demanding better pay as the income gap is growing. our report on this tonight from

nbc's stephanie gosk. what do we want? >> reporter: on street corners around the country today, an organized cry for more money. >> i work two jobs to make ends meet. >> i would rather buy my daughter's diapers than for ourselves. >> reporter: labor unions and workers are demanding $15 an hour -- more than double the federal minimum wage. the movement comes as americans face the biggest wealth gap recorded in 30 years. in 2013, the median worth of upper income families was seven times more than middle-income families. and a full 70 times more than lower income families. these protesters believe a higher minimum wage can be part of the solution. more than 20 states have already raised the minimum wage or will do so in private companies have announced wage increases as well, like mcdonald's, walmart, and gap. last night we introduced you to dan price, ceo of a credit card payment company. our cameras were there when he announced he was giving his

entire staff a salary of at least $70,000. [ applause ] >> reporter: we caught up with him at a protest in new york today. this comes a couple of days after you made your announcement. how are they connected? >> you know, it seems that there's a major conversation about inequality brewing. the rich are getting richer. sometimes kind of the little guy, the normal, average is not keeping up. >> reporter: for generations, part of the american dream has meant your kids will do better than you do. now that they may not -- >> we'll never be defeated! >> reporter: -- there are loud voices demanding s done to defeat it. stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. a moment of silence today marked the two-year anniversary of the boston marathon bombing. survivors were on hand to watch the unveiling of commemorative banners at the site of the two blasts near the finish line. mayor marty walsh has declared this one boston day. a celebration of the resilience of the city and its people. three people died in the ter attack, and one officer killed during the manhunt.

in florida today, a third suspect was arrested in the alleged gang rape of a woman last month on a beach in p city. the popular spring break destination has seen a string of violent incidents, and is now considering whether to end the party for good. we get more from gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: it's a spring break hot spot. officials in panama city beach, florida, say the party is getting out of control aft video surfaced of a gang rape. police say an unconscious 19-year-o was sexually assaulted on a beach in broad daylight. >> what's so disgusting and repulsive and sickening about this is this is happening broad daylight within ten feet of where this is happening, there's hundreds, hundreds o people stand looking, seeing, hearing what's going on. >> reporter: today a third man was arrested in the case.

two men were charged last week. this year, police have seen a dramatic increase in criminal behavior. a gunman shot seven people at a house party last month. there have been almost 1,100 arrests, triple last year's total. reported sexual assaults have almost doubled from six to 11. police have set up so-called spring break jails, mobile booking cages to keep control. now the city council is considering whether to ban drinking on the beach altogether, driving many of these spring breakers and thei spending power elsewhere. >> we will do what it takes to take the beach back and get it under control. it didn't happen overnight, and it's going to take us a while it work through it. >> reporter: the city has tried to crack down before, be i.d. checks and forcing bars to close at 2:00 a.m. the mayor now says other options are on the table to keep this beach safe. and the city council could vote on them next month. lester? >> gabe gutierrez, thanks. a popular snack brand has

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your next flight might be even more cramped than you remember because airlines are adding seats and cutting leg restroom squeeze in as many customers as possible on board. with the cabin even more packed, concerns are being raised about whether all those people can easily evacuated emergency. here's nbc's tom costell tower, you copy? car 100, run way 13 is closed. >> reporter: march 5th in new york, everyone on board a delta commuter flight escapes a crash landing. march 20th, nova scotia. same story as an air canada plane crashes in halifax. [ shouting ] >> reporter: since 1957, the faa has required aircraf manufacturers to p can get out in 90 seconds with half the exits blocked. but is today's test an accurate reflection of the restrictions? the faa reports there's 31

inches between each row of seats. today there's often far less leg room, 30, 29, even 28 inch all to cram more pas board. the nation's flight attendants say it's time for a full review. >> we're concerned that the flight attendants charged with passengers' safety on board the aircraft will not be safely evacuate ev plane. >> reporter: part of the concern -- airline passengers are olde and bigger than they were 20 to 30 years ago. most of them have more carry-on luggage. stuff they're supposed to leave behind in an emergency, but many of them don't. meanwhile, passenger rights groups say seating people too close together is leading to an increase in air rage cases. >> start to fly, people throw coffee on each other, children start crying, flight attendants get upset. >> reporter: the airline industry says there's no need for the government to set new seat spacing standar nbc news "each individual airline should conti determine which products and service offerings best meet th needs of their customers."

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finally tonight, in this era of big league, multimillion dollar deals for athletes, the san diego padres may have made one of the best deals in baseball. doesn't get a lot of attention, but the value, priceless. here's nbc's joe fryer. let's go! >> reporter: even on grainy vhs footage, you can see what the san diego padres saw in pitcher matt lachappa. sizzling fastball and wicked curve. >> he had a lot of talent. he was a great pitcher. he could have gone a long ways, in my opinion. >> reporter: priscilla oppenheimer oversaw minor leag operations when the team signed lachappa in 1993 and rem the request from the south mom. >> you watch out for him, and i said, i'll take good care of him.

>> reporter: good care, even when life throws the curve. >> hello. how are you? >> reporter: lachappa's big league dreams were derailed in 1996 by a heart attack t caused a brain injury. >> how we doing? okay? >> reporter: yet the team refused to let him go. >> how's everything? >> we just decided that matt was going to be a part of it for life. >> thanks for coming out. >> reporter: every year, the franchise has renewed his minor league contract so he can maintain quality health insurance. >> the padres said that he'd be a family member for life, and they've stuck to that bargain. >> reporter: even though it can be hard to communicate, lachappa's love for the team is unquestionable. do you notice anything in him when he's watching the padres play? >> yep. we have to all be quiet. basically stay out of his way. >> it's so good to see you. >> reporter: and every now and then, he actually visits the

field where he's still part of the team. >> awesome. awesome. >> reporter: a promise kept at the ballpark where matt lach truly found . >> i'm very proud of you. >> reporter: news, san diego. that will do it fo wednesday night. i'm lest-<

lights camera access. >> i was getting all sorts of threats. sending me pictures of the barrel of a gun. it was even uglier than we knew. i'm billy bush