WASHINGTON
A small helicopter breached restricted air space Wednesday and landed on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol building.
The incident took place days after a man reportedly attempted suicide at the west front of the Capitol.
Capitol Police detained the pilot of the small gyrocopter that was decorated with the logo of U.S. Postal Service.
"The U.S. Capitol Police is investigating a gyrocopter with a single occupant that has landed on the grassy area of the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol," Capitol Police Public Information Officer Lieut. Kimberly Schneider said in a statement.
Nearby streets around the building were temporarily closed and the Capitol Visitor Center was placed on locked down for a short time.
Police declined to give any information about the suspect but 61-year-old Doug Hughes, a Florida mailman, claimed responsibility on a website saying that he would deliver letters to all 535 members of Congress in order to draw attention to campaign finance corruption.
"The point of the flight is to spotlight corruption in DC and more importantly, to present the solution(s) to the institutional graft," he wrote.
He also added that he had informed authorities about his intentions and had no violent inclinations or intent.
"An ultralight aircraft poses no major physical threat - it may present a political threat to graft. I hope so. There's no need to worry - I'm just delivering the mail," he added.
