Slashdot Mirror
Gyrocopter Pilot Appears In Court; Judge Bans Him From D.C.
mpicpp writes The Florida mail carrier accused of landing a gyrocopter outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday was charged in federal court Thursday and has been barred from returning to the District of Columbia or flying any aircraft, officials said. Douglas Hughes, 61, was charged with violating aircraft registration requirements, a felony, and violating national defense airspace, a misdemeanor. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to three years in prison for the felony and one year in prison for the airspace violation. U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson also barred Hughes from the District of Columbia, except for court appearances, and said he must stay away from the Capitol, White House and nearby areas while he is there. He will also have to hand over his passport.
Can you really ban someone from a federal district? What about a state?
Knowledge Brings Fear
Crazy but well-intended American nuttiness at its finest. I wanna give him a Freedom medal. He had an honest populist message, he didn't set out to hurt anybody, he DIDN'T ACTUALLY hurt anybody (including himself), did it in a wacky, even laughable goof-ball way using his own ingenuity, and most important, told lots of people what he was going to do before he did it (and nobody stopped him).
He gave us all a laugh, and at the same time harmlessly informed us that Washington's airspace is completely vulnerable to low-flying cruise missiles. Your welcome!
I know shit has gotten so hot over the years. They used to set themselves on fire to get a message across. Now they blow themselves up to take other people with them, or blow people up after running away (looking at YOU, Boston Bomber). But whereas the Soviets were the bad guys for shooting people for looking funny at the Kremlin, the U.S. used to be the place you could take LSD on the White House lawn and get nothing more than a night in jail (all he needs is a good haircut).
I never want to live in a USA where wacky shit like this Postman ain't funny anymore. We're supposed to know the difference between a good-hearted eccentric and the truly malicious. Give him a dirty look and a "don't do that again" thing. And maybe actually do something about campaign finance reform.
Speaking of the characteristics of America...
Last week I was at an airport in Europe. I was thinking about how Americans were cautioned because certain criminals (and of course "terrorists") might target them. But this part of Europe had a demographic make-up similar to the USA - mostly white folk, plus a good percentage of people of African descent and a few Asians.
I was thinking, how would they know who is American? Then a plane was boarding. I saw this family, six people in total. The parents and all four children (some were as young as 5 or 6) were really morbidly obese. Then I understood how criminals might target Americans. Strange how the news didn't mention this.
Also, it's too bad telling the honest truth so often offends somebody, but they'll get over it. If you are the parent of a five year old, that five year old becomes morbidly obese, and there is no thyroid problem or other solid medical reason for that, you deserve to be tried and convicted of child abuse/child neglect. Destroy your own health all you like, as you are an adult and can make that choice just like you can choose to smoke, but to destroy your child's health from the start like that is just evil.
The felony wasn't.
It's my understanding that the gyrocopter in question was actually under the 250 pound limit that would require FAA registration.
This would mean the felony charge is bogus.
Can anyone confirm the vehicle total unladen weight?
I love how you US people's use the word Felony as if it all of a sudden makes an act worse that it actually is. Its not a magic word.
The act is as bad as it is. Just because a bureaucrat somewhere decided a different classification should be used to describe it means nothing except more prison time...because of said bureaucrat.
Quite ridiculous.
That's not just murder, that's FELONY murder. That person is even more heinously dead now!
He didn't just steal a car, that is FELONY stealing of a car. The car is SOOOO much more stolen.
My penis is not just a normal penis, its a FELONIOUS penis. What does that mean? Its an awful lot longer...