A gyrocopter sits on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol with members of the U.S. Capitol Police nearby. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Florida mailman Douglas Hughes, who has pleaded not guilty last month to six federal charges for flying a gyrocopter onto the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, has rejected a plea deal that would have meant several years in prison.

Though he’s previously said that he’s open to a deal, Hughes told the Associated Press that the offered deal was too harsh for an act of civil disobedience that didn’t harm anyone.

He is charged with operating as an airman without an airman’s certificate and violating registration requirements involving aircraft, both felonies, as well as three counts of violating national defense airspace, and one of operating a vehicle falsely labeled as a postal carrier. The charges carry almost a decade in prison.

Hughes has been held at home in Florida since shortly after his flight, and is barred from returning to D.C. except for court appearances and meetings with his lawyer.

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