U.S. Capitol

North Carolina's Senate voted unanimously Thursday to pass the measure asking a congressional committee to approve Graham's likeness as a state contribution to the Capitol. The bill, approved by the state's House counterparts in April, now goes to Gov. Pat McCrory.

The 96-year-old evangelist grew up in Charlotte and lives in Montreat, North Carolina.

Douglas Hughes spoke after a status hearing in federal court in Washington. He declined to give specifics of ongoing negotiations but said that if prosecutors continue to insist on "significant hard jail time," his case will go to trial.

Hughes said spending several years in prison doesn't seem fair because nobody was hurt and there was no property damage during his April 15 flight in the bare-bones aircraft. He said his flight was an act of civil disobedience intended to call attention to the influence of big money in politics.