article: Arrested: Doug Hughes (photographed) was arrested after landing his gyrocopter on the U.S. Capitol lawn to protest campaign finance laws . The wife of a Florida postal worker who landed a gyrocopter on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol to protest campaign finance laws says her husband is a patriot. After more than two years of planning, 61-year-old Doug Hughes made it through restricted airspace and a no-fly zone in a gyrocopter Wednesday carrying 535 letters -- one for each member of Congress -- and landed the aircraft on the Capitol lawn. Although Hughes was promptly arrested for the stunt and charged Thursday with violating restricted airspace and operating an unregistered aircraft, Hughes' wife Alena says she is proud of her husband. 'From the public point of view this is very brave,' Alena told WFLA. 'I think he's patriot and I'm proud of him.' Hughes has since been released on his own recognizance and is allowed to return to Florida under certain conditions. The mailman has received support on both Facebook and Twitter for the stunt. The 61-year-old even has a fan page on Facebook called 'Doug Hughes is awesome' and many Twitter users have riddled the social media site with kudos for the man. Scroll down for video . Patriot: Hughes' wife, Alena (photographed), said she is proud of her husband and said he is a 'patriot' While, Alena says she is proud of her husband and will 'support him no matter what' the Belarus native told NBC that the days following the incident have been 'stressful.' She said that she has not slept much since her husband's stunt and felt betrayed because if something had happened to Hughes it would have affected their family. She and Hughes have a 12-year-old daughter and Hughes has adult children from a previous marriage. Land: After more than two years of planning, Hughes made it through restricted airspace in a gyrocopter Wednesday carrying 535 letters and landed the aircraft on the Capitol lawn (photographed) Charged: Hughes was promptly arrested for the stunt and charged Thursday with violating restricted airspace and operating an unregistered aircraft . Alena struggled to describe the situation to the child and told the 12-year-old that her father 'loves his country.' Alena and Hughes have been married for thirteen years, After meeting online, the two went on a few dates in Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia. Alena moved to the U.S. in 2002 and the two got married. Alena said she knew that Doug was interested in politics but had no idea of his risky plan when he bought the gyrocopter two years ago. She told WFLA that she was sure Hughes wasn't doing anything wrong. Struggle: Alena struggled to describe the situation to the child and told the 12-year-old that her father 'loves his country' Lawyer: Alena said her husband had his own lawyer in Washington, but she has hired an attorney, Paul Carr, in Florida to represent her . Alena said her husband had his own lawyer in Washington, but she has hired an attorney, Paul Carr, in Florida to represent her. 'After discussing the situation with her, I didn't see any criminal intent,' Carr said. 'In fact, there's a lot of people that would like to approach Congress.' Hughes' stunt raised security concerns as lawmakers said the incident exposed a security gap. The concerns were raised further amid revelations that Hughes was interviewed by the Secret Service almost two years ago and revealed his plan for the stunt to both the Tampa Bay Times -- which has recently come under fire for failing to stop the stunt -- and in a 2013 blog post.
highlights: Alena Hughes, the wife of the Florida postal worker who landed a gyrocopter on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol says her husband is a patriot .
  Doug Hughes performed the risky stunt Wednesday to protest campaign finance laws .
  The man has received support from the public and his wife says what he did was very brave .
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