Drone Pilot Arrested For Dropping Anti-Media Propaganda At NFL Games

A man who flew a drone and dropped anti-media propaganda flyers into the stands of two NFL games was arrested Sunday for flying a drone within five miles of an airport.

The man, who was not identified by police, sent his drone over Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara and the Coliseum in Oakland. The man dropped the flyers over Levi’s Stadium first during the second quarter of a game between the San Francisco 49er and the Seattle Seahawks. He then headed 30 miles north and dropped pamphlets over a game between the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos, according to police.

Both stadiums fall within five miles of an airport, a no-fly zone for drones. Santa Clara also has a separate law prohibiting flying a drone within 500 yards of Levi’s stadium.

“It was something about free speech and his belief that television stations are corrupt,” said Santa Clara Police Lt. Dan Moreno to the San Francisco Gate Sunday about the flyers.

The drone drop wasn’t particularly successful. Police said that most of the flyers did not end up in the hands of football fans watching, but were swept away by the winds.

Moreno warned of the danger of flying drones near large groups of people.

“If one of them were to crash, the blades are sharp — we certainly don’t want them hitting the crowd or the players,” said Moreno. “It’s kind of up to the abilities of the drone operators and there is no way of knowing if they know what they are doing. A stadium is not a good place to fly a drone.”

An investigation into the incident was opened up with local and federal authorities including the FBI and California Highway Patrol.

Whether the pamphlets had any effect on the games is unclear. The Raiders beat the Broncos 21 to 14 and the 49ers lost to the Seahawks 24 to 13.