to see if they were aware of this mailman's plans this is two months ago. public relation officers said they had not hear of his protest. they heard it loud and clear today. what is congress going to do about trying to enact laws about the air space or better yet, what do we need to do with the secret service? >> that's been an issue here. there are depositions the past couple of days with secret service officials about incident at the white house, information sharing, the stove piping of information has been a big deal since 9/11 between intelligence agencies. it's too early to see if there was intel out there. frankly, even if somebody did have a gyrocopter and had this plan, i work on capitol hill every day and i know no such plan what they could do. >> that gets into another range. i want to point out to our viewers, i don't know if you can see the monitor, but it looks like there is a robotic device around the left side of this gyrocopter. that is no doubt a bomb-sniffing device. >> yes. they had these a long time with u.s. capitol police about. 15 min

right now on "andrea mitchell reports," airmail, a major security breach again in washington as a mailman from florida lands his home made aircraft on the lawn of the capitol. only feet away from the front steps to the halls of congress. and he even broadcast his plans a year ahead of time to his hometown paper. >> terrorists don't announce their flights before they take off. terrorists don't broadcast their flight path. >> the pielot is due in court this afternoon. for homeland security, a real life action movie? >> you remember the movie "independence day" remember the heat shield around the large spacecraft we don't have heat shields. >> follow the money, new questions after the clinton foundation cuts off donations from some foreign countries, but not all. and is he in or out? chris christie may be battle scarred, but new hampshire, he told matt lauer there's still time. >> i haven't changed. all that other stuff is artificial until. the game really begins. the game hasn't even come close to beginning. >>> good day, everyone i'm andrea mitchell back in washington. the mailman who flew

first though, i don't think the government is going to shoot a 81-year-old mailman on a flying bicycle. >> the mailman who landed the gyrocopter on the capitol lawn explains himself and the message he was trying to send. >> a look outside: still gray. our meteorologist will talk about the forecast which includes sprinkles possible and the forecast is coming >> new details of the latest person to be arrested trying to jump the white house fence. he is from the bay area. aought secret service confirms to abc7 that a 54-year-old hayward resident jerome hunt tried to hop the fence and was arrested. he was carrying a package that turned out to be harmless. hunt will be arraigned in a d.c. courtroom today on charge of unlawful entry. this is just the latest in a string of fence jumper whose is tried and succeeded to gaining access to the white house. >> a man would landed a gyrocopter on the lawn of the united states capitol is talking to abc7 exclusively why he did it. he is facing serious charges and he is back home in his home in florida. our reporter, matt keller tells us of the message

he is a mailman. notice he is wearing his mailman costume as well. straight out of central casting.ter now. >>> more restaurants are now doing away with tipping. hear about this? according to to the reporting of the "washington post" newspaper. one restaurant in new new york's east village even removed the line on your bill to write in a tip. instead the restaurant adds 20% quote administrative fees. so everybody gets 20%. we have a hospitality and travel consultant. what do you think of this? >> thank you for having me. this is been interesting ideology. a different way of looking it's for the restaurant industry. several -- >> what do you think of it? >> yes, think ultimately it will actually help create a seemless experience in the restaurant. >> how. >> allowsallows the dnr. >> how. >> your allowing the back of the house staff and front of the house staff make a larger salary so there's a seamless less competition. we're also -- people generally tip anyway so if you're going to be tipping between 18 to 25% now you have a 20% service fee. so from a consumer standpoint, you're not

i'm a mailman. >> reporter: mailman with a message. doug hughes arriving back in florida overnight facing cameras and questions. >> at no point did i feel that it was not a good idea. >> reporter: for the first time since his arrest on a u.s. capitol lawn he revealed what it was like on the controversial flight taking off from gettysburg, pennsylvania flying 80-miles in washington, traveling 45 miles-per-hour. >> i expected to be intercepted on the way. >> reporter: the 61-year-old floridian said the trip was colder than expected, and while the gyrocopter is equipped with gps, he says he used landmarks to guide himself, past their world war ii monument. authorities say hughes made it to the lawn because on radar his small aircraft looked like a car. but if he had gotten any closer capitol police had long rifles in position to shoot him down. still, concern remains that hughes exposed a critical weakness in homeland security. >> 1920s technology that is pointing out flaws in $100 million air defense system. >> in this case the guy was g

but today a federal judge ordered the 61-year-old mailman released, sent back to florida to await trial. there he'll face the conditions, but not the bars of the jail cell. the judge ordered him release until the trial, but set the strict conditions. hughes will be confined to his home with gps tracking. he must check in weekly with pre-trial services and surrender his passport. he's also not allowed to fly any kind of aircraft. and not allowed to step foot in dc, except for the trial or to meet with his lawyers. and all of their flight and landing on the capitol lawn yesterday, he faces only two charges related to the incident. unlawfully flying an unregistered aircraft and violating national defense air space. the maximum jail time is just four years. at u.s. district court, wusa9. >> now hughes will be required to be back here in dc next month. his next court date is set for may the 8th. >>> and to the capitol lawn to take them through some of the most highly restricted air space in the nation. and without being noticed? bruce leshan has that part of the story for us. >> reporter: tw

a mailman hoping to deliver a message to congress is now in custody after landing a small aircraft on the west lawn. this time there are questions that the capitol police and secret service new in advance. we have more. >> reporter: we're basically standing in the flight path have the copter came down the national mall before landing there basically at the foot of the capitol. it was intended to spark a conversation about campaign finance reform but this stunt instead has raised a new discussion about the state of homeland security. >> this is not good, people. >> reporter: coming in for a landing. doug hughes on board a continuer. >> everyone was shouting move. get down. >> reporter: the 61-year-old mailman was looking to deliver a message to washington demanding an end to government corruption. he was carrying 535 letters. it was a daring act of civil disso bead yens that is also a crime. he alerted the tampa bay times last year. 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. >> he in

montgomery, i mean, to the mailman and to other people. at that point the judgment should have been this is too dangerous for us to just let it go. >> that is exactly the point. imagine the conversation we'd be having now if law enforcement had shot down doug hughes and his contraption as he told the paper he thought very well might happen. everyone would be saying the newspaper was reckless. >> yeah, but, see, where i have some ambiguity is take a reporter who wants to imbed himself in an urban street gang to understand what it's like. there have been reporters who have done that. if you do that you know you'll be part of things that aren't right. it's a little bit more complicated than saying we have to alert the authorities. in this case, i just think it was a bad call. but i understand why the reporter thought he could do it. >> it took place of the paper. the secret service was aware of this guy but no one knew when he was coming. i think the tampa bay times did it because it wanted to preserve its scoop. thanks for joining us today.

. >> i don't think that the government is going to shoot a 61-year-old mailman in a flying bicycle. >> the mailman who landed his gyrocopter on the capital lawn tells his side of the story on abc news. the personal message he was trying to deliver. >>> a second california man taken into custody. relief from the drought now gushing into the east >>> live from the kgo tv broadcast center. this is abc 7 news. >>> in news making headlines where you live at 4:30, thousands of people are lighting up on san francisco's so-called hippie hill for the annual 4/20 gathering. some organizations are pushing for the legalization of recreational marijuana in california. that's an effort that failed a few years ago but will be back on the ballot next year. fairfield police are looking for a suspect who took a car out of the family's driveway with the 8-year-old boy inside. the boy says he wasn't scared when it happened. abc 7 reporter tiffany wilson will have the live report with the frantic 911 call. doctor medical center in san pablo is opening just across the street. lyanne melendez will have a li

the pilot, a mailman from florida, is now under investigation. a friend says he planned the flight to send a message about campaign finance reform. but the stunt is raising bigger dwe questions about the security of important sites right here in the nation's capital. it happened as congressional leaders met with the iraqi prime minister inside the capitol. let's begin with the latest. tom foreman as that. >> it is now clear from a video that was collected by "the tampa bay times" that this man planned this for a long time and he let a lot of people know what he was up to that this was no surprise and he didn't want it to be a surprise. he flew through for more than two hours through perhaps what is the most heavily guarded airspace in america. >> i'm not suicidal and i'm not going to commit suicide. and i'm not going to fly into any monuments. terrorists don't announce their flights before they take off. terrorists don't broadcast their flight path. terrorists don't invite an escort to go along with them. >> reporter: those words from an extensiv

the mailman who flew a gyrocopter onto the lawn of the u.s.pitol has been allowed to return home to florida for now. he's leaving behind a string of questions about a dangerous gap in homeland security. here's abc's jim avila. >> the first glimpse of doug hughes, the pilot of that gyrocopter that landed right on the lawn of the capitol. this new video shows him flying through what should be a flow fly zone zooming past the world war ii memorial over the heads of tourists through the national mall and past the washington monument into this is not good, people. >> now serious questions about hughes dodged the nation's radar and missile security systems. starting his journey in gettysburg traveling the 80 miles to the national mall in washington, d.c. flying just 150 feet bob ground. at roughly 45 miles per hour. homeland security secretary jeh johnson admitting the pilot "literally flew in under the radar and from the white house, serious concern." >> it may provide an opportunity for law enforcement agencies including the secret service to revi

not just any mailman. piloting a gyrocopter through restricted washington airspace right onto the capital lawn. >> this is not good people. >> doug hughes' plan was reportedly more than two years in the making. he led anyone and everyone who was listening know he was coming. >> once i got to know doug his plan was entirely designed to be transparent. he was live streaming the entire thing from his gyrocopter. he launched from gettysburg pa which is about an hour and a half flight time coming in. he alerted the media to his flightplan and website, democracy.org, which explains all about his thoughts how he can reform campaign finance. he alerted the authorities. beyond that the authorities investigated him about a year ago. the secret service interviewed him twice and interviewed a colleague of his with whom he had shared ideas for the plan. >> so let's talk about this. i'm joined by daniel a former secret service agent, part of president obama's protective detail. daniel the first thing is clearly this guy

he showed up to court today dressed in his mailman uniform complete with the postal service logo. the stunt exposing a serious national security vulnerability, posing major questions today of senate committee leading a loud national chorus demanding answers. how could so many law enforcement and safety personnel miss this flying contraption as it flew an estimated two hours into washington, d.c.? after 9/11 the people in charge of keeping us safe were blamed for a failure of the imagination for not anticipating terrorists turning planes into weapons, but this incident required no imagination. we've been reporting on drones and other rogue small aircraft for years. a drone just landed on the white house grounds in january. this is not a facial of matchilure of imagination. it's a failure of competence a failure to adapt into the world in which we are living. not one person tried to stop hughes at his self-made jie jury gyrocopter took off in pennsylvania. saying hughes flew under the radar, literally. no way was doug hughes secret about his plans. in fact the secret service questio

. >>> and the florida mailman, actually is a mailman, who land ed that gyrocopter at a u.s. capitol joins us tonight. a u.s. congressman says if it were up to him, that copter would be shot down. the pilot, 63-year-old doug hughes is here tonight. talk about blaming the messenger, congressman! >>> the majority of democrats in the senate finance committee have voted to put the trade deal on fastrack, so all you're hearing about all progressives are against this is not accurate. this is "hardball," the place for politics. if your purse is starting to look more like a tissue box... you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin®. because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. muddle no more™ . >>> loretta lynch has now been confirmed by the united states senate to be the next attorney general of this country. the vote was pretty strong, 56-43. ten republicans joined all the democrats in support of her confirmation, including several republicans facing, of course, re-election next ye

florida mailman douglas hughes is due in federal court today reportedly going to take responsibility for the stunt trying to draw attention to campaign finance frustration. he has been on the radar of the secret since since 2011 but they are denying this. hughes was pretty open about what he was going to do when he contacted a tampa newspaper saying he wasn't out to hurt anyone and the secret service asked him about his plans. >> i will give them plenty of warning. well over an hour of me getting to the no-fly zone so they know who i am what i am doing and it is intended to be non-violent. >> the breach is the latest in security blenders in washington. we have been reporting these so we know including a man killed himself with a gun on the steps and in 2013 a woman shot dead after driving through a security barrier on capital hill. that chase started with ramming a security barricade near the white house. james you are walked along grounds your thoughts? >> the person screaming this is not good should be the head of the secret service now. this had real implications. if this man was

. >> i'm a mailman. i was delivering the mail. i don't think that the government is going to shoot a 61-year-old mailman in a flying bicycle. jummy: hughes could get four years in prison. he says now it's up to the american people to continue the conversation about campaign finance reform that he wanted to started with this stunt right here. more than 30,000 runners are finishing the boston marathon this noon. in fact, the elite runners are just finishing. we just got word that kenya's caroline rotish has won the women's race. more than 3,000 uniformed and undercover officers are deployed on that 26.2 route. it's been two years since the two bombs went off near the finish line killing three people and wounding 260 others. this noon we are following new developments. f.b.i. agents have arrested six people in minneapolis and san diego after a terrorism probe. federal officials have been tracking young people who have traveled to or tried to travel to syria to fight with isil militants. at least one suspect is from minnesota and died

the stunning scene playing out wednesday. 61-year-old florida mailman doug hughes looking to deliver a message to washington carrying 535 letters, one for each member of congress protesting government corruption. >> this is not good people. >> reporter: ultimately landing on the capitol grounds where he was quickly arrested. the flight wasn't a surprise. hughes blogged about his plans in 2013 and shared details with tampa bay times last year. >> i don't believe the authorities will shoot down a 60-year-old mailman in a flying bicycle. >> reporter: after a heads-up about hughes' timing, ben montgomery drove to washington to watch but never alerted authorities. >> it's not my job to pull the plug on somebody doing something like this. >> reporter: the secret service interviewed hughes in 2013 but it's unclear if federal law enforcement was knew of his trip before he flew in. >> i'm not going to deny the fact it was kind of a stupid thing to do but it was also very brave and it was very patriotic. he is going to pay a very dear price. >> reporter: police believe that hughes took off fro

the mailman captured video of this. his nutty problem. that's the squirrel jumping from side to side over the postman's head. >> that is kind of odd. >> until she gets that thing taken care of they're holding her mail at the local post office for her to pick up. i think you got to call the squirrel exterminator or something. >> relocator, derek. don't exterminate. >> yeah. i'll be having squirrel for dinner, tell you that right now. >> all right. that's all for our news at 7:00. we'll be >>> the new ashton and demi sex bombshell. the love triangle scott eastwood says broke them up. >> he did sleep with one of my ex-girlfriends. she was my current girlfriend at the time. >> oh. >> when we found ashton's alleged other woman today. >> we just want to hear your side. >> scandal. >> plus, why is diane sawyer hiding bruce jenner's face in the new promo for her exclusive? >> bruce jenner, the journey. >> then, remember mary kay letourneau who fell for her 13-year-old student and then they married? >> what did you tell your children about how you

. >>> and the florida mailman, actually is a mailman, who landed that joo roland ed that gyrocopter at a u.s. capitol joins us tonight. a u.s. congressman says if it were up to him, that copter would be shot down. the pilot, 63-year-old doug hughes is here tonight. talk about blaming the messenger, congressman! >>> the majority of democrats in the senate finance committee have voted to put the trade deal on fastrack so all you're hearing about all progressives are against this is not accurate. this is "hardball," the place for politics. people ship all kinds of things. but what if that thing is a few hundred thousand doses of flu vaccine. that need to be kept at 41 degrees. while being shipped to a country where it's 90 degrees. in the shade. sound hard? yeah. does that mean people in laos shouldn't get their vaccine? we didn't think so. from figuring it out to getting it done, we're here to help. >>> loretta lynch has now been confirmed by the united states senate to be the next attorney general of this country. the vote was pretty strong 56-43. ten republicans joined all the democrat

. >>> we turn to the mailman who shocked the world by flying a gyrocopter on to the lawn of the u.s. capitol. he's been allowed to return to florida. >> he's leaving behind a string of questions about a dangerous gap in u.s. security. >> reporter: still in his u.s. postal service jacket the first glimpse of doug hughes the pilot that landed that gyrocopter on the lawn. this video shows him zooming over the heads of tourists through the national mall. past the washington monument. >> this is not good people. >> reporter: and now, serious questions about how hughes dodged the nation's radar and missile systems. starting in gettysburg. traveling the 80 miles to the national mall in washington, d.c. flying just 150 feet above ground. at roughly 45 miles per hour. homeland security secretary jeh johnson admitting quote, literally the pilot flew in turned radar. >> it may provide an tonight for law enforcement to review procedures. >> reporter: the postal worker made no secret of his brazen plans. shooting this video with his local newspaper. practicing his wobbly flight back home in flori

it was piloted by a florida mailman with a political message but who, as far as we know, had no intent to do harm. but what if someone else was at the controls, someone with deadly intent? tonight we're not the only ones asking, and some of the answers we're getting aren't totally reassuring. our national correspondent peter alexander is on the story for us. >> reporter: first, the stunt, now the scrutiny. >> this is not good, people. >> reporter: this unprecedented act of civil disobedience is today refocusing new attention on a longstanding security vulnerability, the threat posed by low-flying lightweight aircraft. secretary of homeland security jeh johnson. >> this individual apparently literally flew in under the radar, literally. >> reporter: federal authorities today charged 61-year-old florida mailman doug hughes with violating restricted air space and operating an unregistered aircraft. the maximum penalty one and three years each. a judge released hughes and ordered him to stay out of washington until a hearing next month. hughes told the "tampa bay times" last year he wanted

. >> i'm a mailman i was going to bring the mail. i don't think the government is going to shoot a 61-year-old mailman in a flying bike. >> reporter: this is footage of the flight taken from his prospective. he flew 80 miles per hour from maryland into washington d.c., just 150 feet up in the air. you can see washington, d.c. in the distance below as he makes his approach. he said he used landmarks as guides. >> at the time that i was flying up the capitol mall it was a huge thrill, i wasn't worried about getting shot down, i was worried about my flying and i was getting focused on making my landing. >> reporter: his 11-year-old daughter said she was standing by him. >> i was down right proud. he is a patriot. >> reporter: hughes could get four years in prison. he said it's up to the american people to continue the conversation about campaign finance reform that he wanted to start with the stunt. >> if they pick it up, it's in their power to fix the problem. and then it's worth even if i lose my job and go to jail. >> reporter: doug

that is 61-year-old doug hughes, a mailman from florida, flying right past the white house before his gyrocopter ultimately landed. >> his plans were no secret. he posted them on his website and e-mailed those to several news organizations including us. it. >> reporter: montgomery says he got his first call from hughes a year ago. the 61-year-old mail carrier told the reporter he was plan black he called an act of civil disobedience that would draw a lot of attention, and in the event he got hurt or killed doing it, he wanted someone to tell his story. no reports could refuse that kind of pitch and montgomery began chronicling the lead-up to today's incident. in his time off as a mailman in a tampa suburb, douglas hughes began building and modify ago lightweight gyrocopter and a plan to use it to draw attention to a political cause. >> i will tell you completely honestly i would rather die in the flight than live to be 80 years old and see this country fall. >> reporter: the cause was campaign finance refor the purpose, an issue that rarely gets anyone's blood pumping. hughes would ch

>> reporter: the 61-year-old mailman from ruskin, florida, was looking to deliver a message to washingtondemanding an end to big money and politics and government 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: and 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 somewhere befo

. >> i am a mailman and delivering the mail. i don't think the government is going to shoot a 61-year-old mailman on a flying bicycle not threaten everyone. >> the family calls him a patriot and is under house arrest and has a court date next month. you can see the expire interview this morning when "good morning america" comes your way at 7:00. >> hundreds of thousands will watch as 30,000 runers compete in boston marathon bombing under tight security. here is the starting line in massachusetts, the runners fueled up for the 26.2 mile race by enjoying pre-race dinners across boston and others checked out the finish line in downtown boston the foes advised people not to bring coolers. this will forces the deadly terrorism bombing at the boston marathon bombing two years ago. three people died and 260 were wounded when bombs went off at the finish line. tomorrow the penalty phase begins in the trial of dzhakhar tsarnaev with the jury deciding if he will face the death penalty. the same panel convicted him on 30 charge last week.

. >>> no apologies this morning from the mailman who deliberately violated washington's no-fly zone. despite 2 1/2 years of planning he said that he didn't expect to make it all the way without being stopped. more from abc's mara schiavocampo. >> reporter: gyrocopter pilot doug hughes is grounded, back with his family in florida. >> i was in shock. >> reporter: his wife and 11-year-old daughter speaking out about their dad's dangerous stunt, what he calls an act of civil disobedience protesting campaign financing. >> i was just downright proud. he's a patriot, you know? he did it for the country. >> reporter: though hughes shared his plan with a local reporter, but he says his family knew nothing about it. >> it was intended to be a plan where only i took the risk, it was very lonesome. >> reporter: the 61-year-old mailman now delivering new details about the trip. >> at no point did i feel this was not a good idea. >> reporter: revealing he took off from gettysburg, pennsylvania, flying 80 miles through maryland, straight into washington, d.c., using landmarks like the world war ii

a mailman in a mini helicopter causes a major scare at the u.s. capitol. the message he risked his live to deliver. >> it is discriminatory. it is a violation of my children's medical and educational rights. >> a fiery face-off over a parent's right to choose. live report on >>> a mailman is in serious trouble after landing his helicopter on the lawn of the u.s. capitol. >> this is not good, people! >> cell phone video captured the one-person aircraft called a gyrocopter in action. the stunt closed streets and prompted a temporary lockdown of the capital visitors center. police arrested 61-year-old doug hughes. the florida mail carrier said on his website he was trying to deliver a message to congress demanding campaign finance reform. he made his intentions public in a video from the tampa bay times. there is a no-fly zone around the capitol and hughes says he knew the risk. >> i'm defenseless. a boy scout with a bb gun could shoot me down. >> capitol police officers loaded the helicopter on a trailer. investigators are searching his home in tampa. he cou

finance reform 37. >> i don't believe that the authorities are going to shoot down a 60-year-old mailman in a flying bicycle. i'm going to give them plenty of warning, well over advance of me to get to the no fly zone, so they know who i am and what i'm doing, and it's intended to be nonviolent. i'm defenseless, they could knock me down -- a boy scout with a bb gun could shoot me down. i don't believe anyone wants to personally take responsibility for the fallout that would result from pblly executing someone from an act of dissent. >> doug hughes taped that with the tampa bay times before he embarked on his solo flight to the capitol lawn. he was not shot down, he was not forced down out of the sky by a fighter jet or something he appears to have not been hurt in this landing, he was arrested once he landed on the capitol grounds. they didn't bring in a bomb squad. cone siding with the start of his flight, he posted online a big explanation for what he was doing at democracyclub.org. you can read the letter he wrote to members of congress. he links to a bunch of groups who are working i

>> the 61 year old mailman flew his gyro copter, under the radar, to the washington lawn cap tonight charged with knowingly operating an unlicensed aircraft, violating national defense air space he faces up to four years in prison. hughes has been given home detention in florida and he's been ordered to stay out of the sky. >> they want to effectively de per people from conducting similar missions, but they don't want to waste resources sending 61 year old man who has no violent tendencies to federal prison. >> hughes was delivering letters urging congress to take up campaign finance reform. but for lawmakers, the content every those letters was less important than how they got here. >> the chain of event that happened afterward i think is going to invoke a lot of questions by members. if you didn't detect it why and if you did why didn't we hear about it? those are two real important questions that need to be answered. >> minority leader nancy pelosi was alarmed, one of the most visible secure buildings in the world could be so easily breached. >> it is a stunning thing to think of

. >>> now to the mailman famous or infamous for landing his gyrocopter on the capitol lawn. he landed somewhere else overnight, back in florida. he spoke for the first time since his flight raised questions about security in washington, d.c. he was safe to say, unapologetic. and abc's mara schiavocampo is on the story. mara, good morning to you. >> reporter: dan, good morning. absolutely right to say, completely unapologetic. speaking to the tampa bay times, he had a lot to say about what he calls an act of civil disobedience. he says when he landed at the capitol, more than anything else, he said that he was just confused why there wasn't a mass law enforcement presence already waiting for him. overnight, doug hughes speaking out about his high-flying political stunt over washington, d.c. >> i didn't see any vehicles. >> reporter: hughes admitted that he got further than even he anticipated. >> i expected to get intercepted on the way. >> reporter: hughes saying he envisioned a blackhawk helicopter hovering over the u.s. capitol with guns pointing at him. but he found a com

that mailman will be back in d.c. in a few weeks for his next court appearance.he's on house arrest in florida. back to you, jim. >>> in the district no clear winner yet in that special election yesterday to replace the late marion berry on the d.c. council. as tom sherwood reports, the top two contenders are watching every vote. >> reporter: the campaign office littered with leftover stuff, but the race is not over. election night ended with may heavily favored holding only a 152-vote margin over her closest opponent. >> by next friday we should know something definitely. >> reporter: that's trayon white. he was checking on 1,000 challenged ballets still to be countdown. those ballets have mostly minor flaws. they may not be fully countdown until next week. >> i'm confident we have the numbers. we just pray that there's no fraud or anything misleading going on with those numbers because we believe in the will of the people. >> reporter: white told nbc 4 that even if he loses this race to finish berry's term he'll return again next year for a full term. marian ch

no one -- a mailman noticed it tuesday. he knocked. no one opened. he got two neighbors to come over. one smelled the gas. the other didn't. the mailman came the next day, knocked, still no answer and he left, but he happened to see an ems worker and asked him to check. this time the elderly man came to the door. they got him out of there and hazmat did find the gas burner on, very dangerous. the homeowner was still in the hospital at last check but is apparently being treated for other health issues. >>> it has one of the highest rates of sexual assaulteds of colleges in our area. how -- assaults of colleges in our area, how students of galludet are now taking a stance. >> madman star jon hamm accused in a violent college hazing we work weekends here. because it works for our patients. here, at cancer treatment centers of america in philadelphia, we give our patients the freedom to make appointments that fit their schedules, even on weekends. because we believe in being here when our patients need us, so they can keep living their busy lives. weeken

he is a mailman in florida and had 535 letters to deliver to congress.aign finance, money from corporations and large entities he said have more pulls than any individual american voice in the country, and he sort of surprisingly is sane in the way he looks and talks about this. he said i know this is crazy, but i can't stand to watch the country fall a part and i have to do something to make my views heard. >> he is surprisingly likable. i relate to that passion. i will be clear about the intention public, met with the secret service twice, he said he was going to do it and filmed it. before 9/11 this would be a pr stunt to get attention. we are hear talking about it so it worked. after 9/11 it is taken serious and thank goodness he wasn't fired at. not a good idea. wouldn't recommend it for anything. but for this mailman i tip my hat not to wha he did but the sentiment and passion trying to raise awareness to cause he believes in. >> i think a lot of people listen and feel that way perhaps. one last question. drones. i feel like we will be in a world w

he's a mailman from tampa, florida, and he had letters that were addressed to every single member of congress that he planned to deliver himself. these letters address his frustration by campaign finance reform and corruption. he causes quickly arrested. how in the world demanage to get through that supposedly secure area? turns out hughes had been planning this for a couple of years. he wasn't trying to hide his plans. even the secret service knew about it and interviewed hughes last year. iews also tipped off several -- hughes also tipped off several news organizations including us but a reporter with the tampa bay times actually met with him. first i'm going to play part of our interview from the tampa bay times and then you'll hear from the pilot himself. >> at that time he had a very detailed plan about trying to bring attention to his pet political issue which is something nobody pays attention to. your eyes glaze over when you hear campaign finance reform. >> but i will tell you, completely honestly, i would rather die in the flight than live to be 80 years old and see this co

he is from florida and is a mailman. he said all he wanted to do was deliver 500 letters to members of congress on campaign finance reform. he even made his plans public and the secret service interviewed him but no agencies did anything to stop him. this is a fact that has upset many lawmakers. >> he is lucky to be alive because he should have been blown out of the air and very well could have been. >> you think he should have been blown out of the air? >> i think if you're going to do that and come down, if it was up to me, i would have taken care of the problem. >> also up for discussion, another incident where a quad copter was flown into the side of the white house, if convicted hughes could face up four years in prison and multiple fines. coming up in our next half-hour at 6:30, hear from hughes himself who says why the entire thing was a success. live on capitol hill, i'm nikki burdine, wusa9. >>> the supreme court is weighing whether the constitution gives same-sex couples the right to marry. >> arguments lasts t

the mailman who flew the gyrocopter thing into the most secure air space in the country now talking, us what he thought would happen during his flight. >>> the secret service confirms its officers arrested yet another white house fence jumper. it happened around 10:30 last night in washington. a secret service spokesman says a guy climbed over the fence on the south side of the white house complex. a 50-year-old man from the san francisco bay area and faces a charge of unlawful entry. last september a man with a knife jumped the fence and ran inside in the white house, looking for the president. agents tackled him inside the east room. the secret service director says there have been more than a dozen fence jumpers over the last several years. >>> then there's that mailman who flew his gyrocopter into restricted air space andland on the u.s. capitol lawn. news he says he thought the feds would surround him and demand he land, but he did not think they would actually shoot him down. he is now under house arrest outside of tampa. he faces up to four years in prison. he said he wanted t

he's said to be a mailman in florida. unclear if he's still a mailman or not. he said he had letters to deliver speaking about campaign finance reform and the corrupting influence of money in washington. obviously, we'll learn more about him andize identity izehis identity will be confirmed in the hours to confirm. as the reporter said on twitter, he made it down safe. i can't believe he made it. >> if you're telling me brian, that this mailman gave somebody a heads up that he was taking off from this helicopter, do you know athena if capitol hill police or some other law enforcement were aware, waiting for this? do we know? >> it certainly does not seem as though anyone here was made aware ahead of time about this person's plans. we know that this is restricted air space. we know from my colleague renÉ marsh, who spoke with the faa, that you have to get special permission to fly in air space like this. that person did not get any sort of -- >> restricted air space, as you pointed out. >> i used to be a page in the capitol a long time ago. i used to be one of t

. >> i don't believe that the authorities are going to shoot down a 60-year-old mailman in a flying bicycle. >> and based on that times article, hughes seems like a highly unlikely character to try this in the first place. he is 61 years old with a family steady job and no criminal record. his idea was to hijack the news cycle for a day to draw focus to an otherwise dry issue. he has been halfway successful. reporting live, wusa 9. >> very successful. we're still talking about it and the cops are calling the landing quite a scene as you can imagine. deputy rami -- stephanie ramirez joins us now with the reaction. >> this comes on the heels of another serious accident that happened at the capitol over the weekend. this happened in the same area behind me here today at least interest were not as many people around. also today though, a little bit different than witnesses tell me, other surrounding buildings like the library of congress, those buildings were not also placed on lockdown like they were over the weekend if you didn't see the helicopter or the air craft land it was more of a last

we're talking about the mailman who made the gyrocopter a household name.ologetic days after landing it on the u.s. capital. >> despite 2 1/2 years of planning, he says he didn't expect to make it all the way without being stopped. here's mara schiavocampo. >> gyrocopter pilot doug hughes is grounded back with his family in florida. >> i was in shock. >> his wife and daughter speaking out about their dad's dangerous stunt, what he calls an act of civil disobedience protesting campaign financing. >> i was just down right proud. he's a patriot, you know? he did it for the country. >> though hughes shared his plan with a local reporter, he says his family knew absolutely nothing about it. >> it was intended to be a plan where only i took the risk but it was very lonesome. >> the 61-year-old mailman now delivering new details about the trip. >> at no point did i feel that it was not a good idea. >> revealing he took off from gettysburg, pennsylvania, flying 80 miles through maryland, straight into washington, d.c. using landmarks like the world war ii memorial