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Drone Pilot Arrested After Flying Over Two Stadiums, Dropping Leaflets (cbslocal.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the no-fly-zones dept.

"A man with an anti-media agenda was arrested in Oakland after he flew a drone over two different stadiums to drop leaflets" last Sunday, writes Slashdot reader execthis. A local CBS station reports: According to investigators, [55-year-old Tracy] Mapes piloted his drone over Levi's Stadium during the second quarter of the 49ers-Seattle game and released a load of pamphlets. He then quickly landed the drone, loaded it up and drove over to Oakland. He flew a similar mission over the Raiders-Broncos game. Santa Clara Police Lt. Dan Moreno said after Mapes was apprehended he defended the illegal action as a form of free speech.
USA Today reports there's now also an ongoing federal investigation "because the Federal Aviation Administration prohibits the flying of drones within five miles of an airport. Both Levi's Stadium and Oakland Coliseum are within that range."

"The San Francisco Chronicle added that the drone was a relatively ineffective messenger because 'most of the drone-dropped leaflets were carried away by the wind.'"

19 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Free speech does not exclude laws by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes you can have free speech but you cannot break laws in expressing that. Are people really this stupid these days?

    1. Re:Free speech does not exclude laws by CaptainDork · · Score: 2, Informative

      That phrase does not mean what you think it does.

      It means that you can't be arrested for talking trash about the government.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    2. Re:Free speech does not exclude laws by TimSSG · · Score: 2

      Yes you can have free speech but you cannot break laws in expressing that. Are people really this stupid these days?

      I think freedom of the press would be more on target; but, you still can be arrested for breaking the law while using the freedom of the press. Tim S.

    3. Re:Free speech does not exclude laws by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      But would he have been arrested for flying the drone if he had not dropped leaflets? It is likely that hundreds of people fly drones within 5 miles of SFO or OAK everyday. How many of them are arrested? Selective enforcement of the law can be a form of oppression.

    4. Re:Free speech does not exclude laws by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

      It means that you can't be arrested for talking trash about the government.

      No, it doesn't. It means government can't make any laws that would prevent you from exercising free speech.

      But free speech doesn't mean you get to break other laws while exercising your free speech.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    5. Re:Free speech does not exclude laws by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

      That's not the question. The question is would he have been arrested had he dropped blank leaflets, or leaflets expressing an opinion opposite to that expressed, or leaflets discussing the moderation system of Slashdot.

      My guess is yes. Dropping leaflets would appear to be problematic for all kinds of reasons, and I suspect many of those reasons overlap with overt prohibitions in codes the FAA enforces.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  2. Never mind the illegal flying by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Charge him with littering.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  3. Re:What did the leaflets say? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

    The leaflets asked people to deposit them in a recycling bin.

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    #DeleteFacebook
  4. Re:What did the leaflets say? by Known+Nutter · · Score: 4, Informative
    Most media outlets aren't reporting the content of the leaflets, probably to avoid promoting this sort of thing, but the initial report I saw indicated something about corrupt media and assault on freedom.

    A rep for the Santa Clara Police Department (SCPD) told the San Francisco Chronicle the leaflets included, "something about free speech and his belief that television stations are corrupt."

    source

    --
    Beware of the Leopard.
  5. Re:What did the leaflets say? by Hal_Porter · · Score: 3, Informative

    CBS have declined to explain but a bit of searching turns up this

    https://www.facebook.com/RedXS...
    https://archive.fo/eoZiN

    https://www.facebook.com/Tracy...
    https://archive.fo/IcXKV

    https://www.facebook.com/notes...
    https://archive.fo/ywhAk

    tl;dr - nothing particularly interesting. Archive links because FB will probably pull his account to protect us all from reading his rather empty, but basically harmless rants.

    --
    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  6. FAA still to speak by HornWumpus · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You're not supposed to fly directly over crowds.

    I always maintain a horizontal offset while trolling crowds of paranoids with my model predator drone. Protip: Put a plant into the crowd to 'spot the drone' or 90% of flights are wasted.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  7. TFR by mattwarden · · Score: 4, Informative

    Regardless of the proximity to the airport, all stadiums are under a TFR up to 3000 AGL above and around a stadium during NFL games. See https://www.faa.gov/uas/where_...

    1. Re:TFR by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Regardless of the proximity to the airport, all stadiums are under a TFR up to 3000 AGL above and around a stadium during NFL games.

      And that's what's actually relevant here, since you only have an obligation to notify an airport if you're going to fly within five miles. You're still not allowed to ever fly your drone actually over the airport, or usually a small border around it, but it's not five miles. Some airports have a web form you can fill out to provide notification, others expect it in writing, some will take a phone call. This notion that you are prohibited from flying a drone within five miles of an airport is bollocks.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Good for him by WrongMonkey · · Score: 3

    Fighting the good fight, out in the real world, instead of hiding behind a monitor. Sure, he broke the law, but that comes with the territory. Even in a peaceful revolution.

  9. so anachronistic! by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 3, Funny

    all stadiums are under a TFR up to 3000 AGL above and around a stadium during NFL games.

    It's been my experience that transferors usually have less than 3000 agility points but I don't see what this has to do with Newfoundland's games. ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  10. Carefully ignoring what he said by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 3

    I can't help but notice that the content of the leaflets is not spoken of. Only "anti-media", which we all know is Wrongthink[tm]. We all should believe the media, they wouldn't lie or shelter sex offenders. Or have dead people show up in their offices like MSNBC's Joe Scarborough. A fucking female intern died in his office and he got off scot-free.

    No, the story is about how he did wrong. This kind of crap is why nobody trusts the mainstream media any more. If they say the sky is blue you go outside and check.

    --
    Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  11. Re:At least they caught the guy... by NewtonsLaw · · Score: 2

    Check out DJI's Aeroscope. It's now almost trivial to track errant drones and their owners.

  12. Re:What did the leaflets say? by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 2

    On advice of counsel, the leaflets chose to remain silent, but not before they had invoked the 1st, 5th, and 9th amendments

    --
    You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
  13. Bad reporting by linuxwrangler · · Score: 2

    Almost every report I've read about this has a comment that it is illegal to fly within 5 miles of an airport which is simply untrue. You can fly within 5 miles of any airport. If the airport is not in Class B airspace then you are required to *notify* the operator and, if there is a control tower, the tower of your operational plans. Within Class B airspace, which does not cover either stadium as they are not within 5 miles of San Francisco International, you need permission and must coordinate with the controllers.

    But it *is* illegal to fly within 3 miles of a NFL stadium from one hour before to one hour after a scheduled game. Similar restrictions apply to certain other sporting events like NASCAR and NCAA division one football.

    And the miles are *nautical* miles which are roughly 15% greater than statute miles. The reporters never make that distinction, either.

    https://www.faa.gov/uas/where_...

    --

    ~~~~~~~
    "You are not remembered for doing what is expected of you." - Atul Chitnis