Doug Hughes (activist)

Hughes was born in San Mateo County, California, and grew up in Santa Cruz. He graduated from Holy Cross High School in Santa Cruz and enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the USS Enterprise as an electrician's mate third class.[5] A U.S. Postal Service official said that Hughes had become a rural letter carrier in 2003.[6]

Doug Hughes July 2014

Hughes was deeply affected by the suicide of his son, John, in August 2012.[7] Hughes told the Tampa Bay Times that his protest had been a response to this, suggesting that his son had, "paid far too high a price for an unimportant issue, but if you're willing to take a risk, the ultimate risk, to draw attention to something that does have significance, it's worth doing."[1]

According to Hughes, his intent was to deliver a political message by "delivering the mail." Hughes carried 535 letters to Congress, individually stamped and addressed to each member of Congress. The flight was broadcast over the Internet to Hughes' web site "The Democracy Club".[8] The flight from a small airport in Gettysburg, PA across Maryland finished on the west lawn of the US Capitol Building - a distance of about 70 miles and total flight time just under 90 minutes.

In 2014, Hughes contacted a writer with the Tampa Bay Times to explain his non-violent protest.[1] Interviews and video, including flight video,[9] were arranged in advance with the understanding the story would be posted online at the Times web site as soon as the flight began. The reporter was in Washington DC and saw the take-off on Hughes' web site. At the time Hughes began the flight, an E-mail to the government through barackobama.com was sent automatically which explained the intent of the flight and where it was going. Dozens of emails were sent to the media directing them to the Tampa Bay Times web site for the story and the Hughes web site for the background. A few weeks after the flight, the Chairman of the US House Oversight Committee in an official hearing on the gyrocopter flight said, "The guy in the gyrocopter was livefeeding a stream. I have heard a story from one of the major networks where they were watching it in New York, called down to the Capitol, and had staff reporters and producers go down on the grass to watch it happen."[10]

Seventeen months before the flight, Hughes was interviewed by the US Secret Service. In October 2013, he admitted to the US Secret Service owning a gyrocopter and identified where it was located but did not admit to specific plans for the flight.[1] Hughes claimed this encounter with the federal police validated his non-violent inclination. In the letter to the government sent at the time of take-off and to the media, Hughes declared the investigation by the US Secret Service and lack of action by the authorities was proof that his non-violent political intent had been established in advance of the flight.

Following his return to Florida, Hughes did a number of interviews from his home while under house arrest. These included interviews on "Good Morning America",[11] "Hannity,"[12] and Democracy Now,"[13] among others.[14] In the interviews Hughes argued for the need to reverse the Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. FEC and reduce the influence of wealth on American politics. Hughes would later reflect that his biggest regret of the flight was not wearing a heavier sweater because of the cold weather.[15]

Hughes flight triggered media discussion on the subject of money in politics. In an editorial for Huffingtonpost, John Ennis presented asked, "what other recourse did he have?"[16] while Jon Stewart declared "Kudos to that guy!" after dubbing the incident "Wack Hawk Down".[17] The co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Ben Cohen, wrote an editorial supporting Hughes' flight as a legitimate act of civil disobedience.[18] Other political personalities, including Ralph Nader[19] and former representatives Connie Morella (R-MD) and Dan Glickman (D-KS) teamed up to write an editorial "We Are Gyrocopter," which decried "special interest" and "corrosive big money's" influence on American politics.[20]

Hughes also faced strong criticism for the flight. Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said that Hughes was "lucky to be alive" and "should have been blown out of the air,"[21] while broadcaster Anderson Cooper expressed concern over the tax dollars that would be spent in law enforcement and prosecution for Hughes' 'stunt'.[22] The US Postal Service was unhappy with Hughes' flight. His gyrocopter had carried the US Postal logo, and the Post Office determined that the use of two small corrugated trays to transport mail was misappropriation of government property. Hughes was suspended after the flight and fired in July 2015. He appealed the decision and retired in 2016.[23]

Hughes finished his prison term in October 2016, then remained under federal probation until October 2017. When probation finished he intended to return to national activism on the corrosive effect of big money in politics and the reform measures he believes are possible and effective.[33] Retired from the US Postal Service, he currently gives speeches and has published a book "Flight Plan: A Mailman's Aerial Adventure and Special Delivery" in September 2021.[15] He spoke at the 2018 Unrig the System summit where he was presented with an award for his actions.[34]

• Hughes, Doug (November 26, 2016). "Why I won't ask for a Presidential Pardon". Medium. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
• Hughes, Doug (May 15, 2015). "I flew a gyrocopter onto the Capitol Lawn to save our democracy". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 17, 2017.