The Florida man who landed a gyrocopter on the U.S. Capitol’s west lawn in April announced Wednesday that he plans to run against Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Douglas Hughes, 62, said last week he would run for public office if his legal battles did not prevent him from doing so, but according to paperwork filed Wednesday, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee will be his target.
The former postal worker said he was “very deliberately targeting” Wasserman Schultz because he sees her as the “poster child of establishment politics on the Democratic side” and believes she has “done a horrible job as chair” of the party, according to the Washington Post.
The Ruskin, Fla., resident pleaded guilty last month to a felony charge of operating a one-man aircraft without a license and flying through restricted airspace in Washington.
Although Hughes will remain free until his April sentencing, he has been grounded to Hillsborough County, which prevents him from visiting Wasserman Schultz’s district and filing legal paperwork in Tallahassee.
Prosecutors must decide by Jan. 13 whether they will allow Hughes’ conditions of release to be modified. They have previously said that they will ask for a 10-month sentence, which likely would end his campaign.
Hughes would have to move to Miami’s 23rd District to be an eligible candidate and would not be able to announce his bid until May.
Still, Hughes was hopeful, citing Rep. Dave Brat’s victory over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor last year as proof that anything can happen.
Hughes said his reason for flying to the Capitol in April is the same as attempting to run for elected office now.
“I want to get the money out of politics and return the power to the voters, rather than the connected voters and the wealthy,” Hughes said. “That’s what I flew for, and that’s what I’m running for.”
