Yesterday, 400 protestors were arrested at the U.S. Capitol Building; they were affiliated with Democracy Spring, an organization protesting the relationship between money and politics. The protestors were arrested for “unlawful demonstration activity,” like crowding and obstruction. However, the organization promises to continue its efforts, and bring protestors back to the Capitol Building throughout the week.

The protestors marched 140 miles from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. to protest at the Capitol Building. The aim of the protestors is to: “draw attention to our corrupt campaign finance system and rigged voting laws.” Democracy Spring claims that over 3,500 people from 33 states have committed to joining the protests. According to Reuters:

Police arrested those who sat on the stairs of the East Front of the Capitol, the seat of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Hundreds Protesting Political System Arrested On Capitol’s Steps #DemocracySpring https://t.co/ypZ9HHK04p pic.twitter.com/Sw7KVRMkjB

— My name is (@RevoltPolitic) April 12, 2016

#DemocracySpring brought chairs for Elders sit-in at the US Capitol pic.twitter.com/EhxxosFFKb

— Paulina Leonovich (@Polly_evro) April 12, 2016

Protesters are out en masse. Police are out en masse. From the media, cricket chirps. #democracyspring In DC now! pic.twitter.com/r04KoEQWDV

— Doug Hughes (@DougHughesDCfly) April 12, 2016

Campaign finance reform has played a big part in the 2016 election thus far. The populist non-establishment candidates in both parties–Donald Trump on the Republican side and Senator Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side–have run on platforms that heavily emphasize campaign finance reform.

According to Kai Newkirk, a Democracy Spring organizer, the aims of the protest were to encourage Congress to take action:

And there are four bills, in particular, that we’ve identified—two that deal with big money in politics and two that will protect and expand the right to vote and voter access. One would set up public finance, a citizen funding of elections, so that anyone can run for office without raising money from billionaires. Another is an amendment that would overturnCitizens United. The third would restore the damage that was done to the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, the Voting Rights Advancement Act. And the fourth, the Voter Empowerment Act, would do many positive things to make it easier for people to get to the polls and to be able to vote.

The protestors are also encouraging Congress to nominate a Supreme Court justice who will rule in favor of campaign finance reform. While some of the protestors today were arrested, in light of the current ire against money in politics, commotion at the Capitol seems likely to continue for the next few days.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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I’ve lived in Washington, DC for almost five years, and I’ve gotten used to pretty much any kind of disruption to my day because of security concerns. Whether it’s having to walk all the way around the White House complex due to it being shut down for security reasons, or not being able to cross the street because President Obama’s motorcade is coming through, minor interruptions to my day have become the norm. But last month, a man took even the most jaded DC residents, and the country, by surprise when he landed a gyrocopter in front of the U.S. Capitol Building. That man, Doug Hughes, was just indicted on six counts as a result of his misadventures, and could face a sentence of more than nine years in prison if found guilty.

Hughes is 61 and works as a mailman in Ruskin, Florida. He drove the gyrocopter up to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, then flew it to DC and landed it on the Capitol lawn. Hughes was completely aware that what he was doing was against the law; in fact, breaking the law was sort of the point, as it would allow him to attract attention and publicity for his cause. He was trying to deliver 535 letters (one for each member of Congress) to the Capitol building, protesting the power that big money plays in Washington politics. Hughes’ contraption looked like this:

#Gyrocopter pilot due in court today pic.twitter.com/aZOn3exMrb

— 10 News (@WTSP10News) May 21, 2015

The charges against Hughes include two felonies and four misdemeanors. One issue is that he didn’t have any sort of license to operate his “aircraft”–the felony charges are to that effect. The misdemeanor charges include three counts of violating national defense airspace, and for mislabeling his gyrocopter as a mail-delivery vehicle. Regardless of the jail time that Hughes is probably going to serve, he’s received quite a bit of attention for his message as a result of the stunt. When he came back to DC for his hearing, he was met by plenty of supporters. He appeared in the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse just a few blocks away from where he landed his gyrocopter this Spring, and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He doesn’t contest that he flew the gyrocopter onto the Capitol lawn, just that he caused no damage when he did so.

#Gyrocopter pilot: “I’ll never do anything like this again, but I would do it exactly the way that I did.”@wusa9 pic.twitter.com/0RPHwliqaZ

— Andrea McCarren (@AndreaMcCarren) May 21, 2015

He also pledged to continue his fight against the influence of money in politics, and to continue to educate voters. Hughes stated:

Over time, the Congress, our Congress, has rewritten the rules to define an open marriage: They’re in bed with lobbyists, special interests, Wall Street and big banks. We are not asking, we are demanding that our government honor the vows of fidelity implicit in the Constitution…As long as I am free, I am going to keep introducing voters to solutions to the problems of corruption that the vast majority of voters recognize and oppose.

While Hughes certainly seems passionate about his cause, and did receive attention for the gyrocopter stunt, violating multiple laws really isn’t a great way to make a compelling argument for a cause, no matter how worthy the it is. Unfortunately for Hughes his actions, and the legal issues he’s going to have moving forward, probably won’t do much to advance his cause in the end.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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